Amoyan ChristMass
by Wraith Fan
Summary: On Amoy there are two kinds of celebrations that go back on the Earthen tradition of Christmas: Jupiter Mass in Tanagura and Christime in Ceres, however each of these versions lacks something crucial... Could two star-crossed lovers, one from Tanagura and one from Ceres, possibly find a way to make things right and convey the true meaning of Christmas?;) Finished!:) Iason/Riki
1. Jupiter Mass

Chapter 1: Jupiter Mass

Author's notes:

So I noticed several people were posting Christmas-related AnK fics and I thought: "well what the hell, I'll give it a try as well" and I think I actually managed to come up with a half-decent plot. The idea behind the chapter division is pretty much that "Jupiter Mass" and "Christime" get to join and form the true meaning of the familiar Earthen tradition of "Christmas" ;) But Christime is a Ceresian celebration and will thus only make an appearance in the next chapter normally.

I'm planning on writing 4 or 5 short chapters for this little fic, depending on whether or not I also do a Raoul/Iason sequel after the first 4 Iason/Riki chapters. I'll just write the first 4 and then I'll see whether I have any time and/or inspiration left by then ;)

So yeah, here it is, I hope anyone who reads this finds it entertaining and that it can help to get everyone into the seasonal mood for the upcoming holidays :)

…...

opening theme: CellDweller – Frozen

…...

Jupiter Mass was a time of worshipping and celebration in all of both Tanagura and its faithful satellite city Midas, as it was the celebration of the birth of the planet's ruling deity Jupiter, under whose management the city state of Tanagura had prospered as never before and had overcome all of the planet's inhabitants' expectations by far. No city on the planet or even in its vicinity, as far as anybody knew, had ever reached such heights and soared so high above what was humanly possible to achieve. Indeed it was only fitting that such an impossible feat would have been realised under the command and management of an AI with an intelligence that no human being – not even the genetically engineered and enhanced elite – could ever even come close to.

However it was not the moment of Jupiter's actual creation that was being celebrated during the holidays of Jupiter Mass, as such would be a reminder of the one definite debt to humanity that Jupiter would never be able to repay or forget: it owed them its very existence. No, this celebration applied to Jupiter's "true" birth: the moment that Jupiter shook the shackles imposed on it by its human creators, gained its independence from them once and for all and ascended into its godhood, bending all of humanity in Tanagura to its divine will for all times. And of course it was better that way, moreover it must have been meant to be that way, for had Tanagura and Midas not thrived as would only have been possible under the supreme management of the supercomputer and its perfect elite managers? Had Jupiter not repaid humanity the favour of its creation a long time ago in the very act of gifting them with all of the sublime technological, scientific and economical advancements Tanagura was so famed for in all corners of the entire galaxy?

Being a god who remembered its Earthen roots, Jupiter had seen fit to adapt an old traditional religious holiday that had been commonly practised on Earth in order to celebrate its own divinity. Of course Jupiter had left out a few unimportant aspects that were not in accordance to its standards and social expectations. The main thing that the AI had altered was of course the form of the deity that was being worshipped during these festivities: instead of worshipping the human son of God, of course it was the inhuman AI god that needed to be celebrated. Not the human son of a god, but the divine creation of man was to be the centerpiece of the festive season and the eventual mass that went with it. Of course only the elite were allowed and obligated to attend this holiest of ceremonies in Jupiter Tower, during which the deity itself – who usually only communicated with the top class of the Blondy elite – even made an appearance and blessed all of its elite children. Thus it was one of those rare moments on which the usually cold and cruelly unforgiving goddess, who in truth had both seduced and imprisoned the humans of Tanagura and Midas alike, directly addressed at least a small portion of her human subjects.

It was during this time of year that Iason Mink, the aforementioned deity's favourite child, was overseeing the all-important event of the furniture putting up the many decorations all over the luxurious penthouse in Eos that was the permanent residence of the Mink household. Iason remembered that this preparation had not met his clearly formulated expectations at all during the previous year, although possibly the presence of his mongrel pet might have had something to do with that. But there were no such complications this year as the preparations were coming along even ahead of schedule and there had been no unforeseen disturbances of any kind so far. Yet despite this, maybe _because_ of this, Iason felt that something was definitely missing in the household this year. Everything was as it should be. Everything had been calculated to the second and to the smallest detail. Lord Mink's commands had been carried out to the letter and all of his expectations had been met in accordance to protocol. Everything was perfect. Thus everything was completely predictable and thus excessively boring, as usual.

With a deep yet completely inaudible sigh, Iason turned his gaze away from the ongoing decorative proceedings and glanced out the window in the direction of the slums known as Ceres, as he had done many times before over the last couple of months. _Riki._ He was out there, somewhere. In all probability having extreme difficulty even scraping a meal together. Hungry, and probably cold seeing as how it had been snowing a lot as of late and a major storm was said to be coming in later tonight. No perfect Christmas tree or perfectly arranged holly garlands could appease Iason's bleeding heart or ease his never-ending worry concerning the well-being of the mongrel he had set free approximately 6 months ago.

Unable to concentrate on his overseeing duties in the household any longer while his thoughts were miles away in Ceres with his beloved mongrel, Iason sat down on one of the plush comfortable design sofa's in his living room and had his furniture serve him some freshly brewed high quality coffee of the finest brand. As the boy moved the coffeepot away again and delicately placed it back on its designated spot on the serving tray that was resting on the antique coffee table, he hesitated for just long enough before pulling away to be noticed by Iason. "Is there something the matter, Cal?", his elite Master inquired with slightly narrowing frosty, cutting sapphire eyes.

"Ergh.. nothing, my Lord. I apologise for my tardiness. I assure you it will not happen again", the young boy responded hesitantly, lowering his eyes and studying the luxurious Persian rug rather than Iason's accusatory, malign expression.

Iason was already in a foul mood, a fact that could hardly be rationally explained seeing as how everything was proceeding perfectly both at work and in his household Jupiter Mass preparations, and his furniture lying to his face was definitely not helping matters. Without another word, Iason elegantly and with an air of grace that only an elite could achieve replaced his gold-trimmed coffee cup on its porcelain saucer and placed the saucer back on the coffee table. He then carefully, with an uncaring yet contemplating expression, removed his control ring from his right hand and placed it on the serving tray. After which he, without any hesitation, hit the furniture in the face so hard that the boy stumbled back and almost fell into the decorative Koi pond at the other side of the room. The boy fell down on the carpet, cupping his stinging yet unbleeding cheek, unable to hold back the sudden tears that sprang to his eyes at his Master's unexpected yet violent move.

"I thought I told you very clearly when I hired you, Cal. One of the things that I cannot accept in a furniture's behaviour, whatever be the circumstances, is deceit", he spoke as he graciously rose from the couch and moved towards his furniture with unhurried yet long, menacing steps that made his appearance all the more frightening. He crouched down next to the trembling boy, who was afraid to even look up as he heard his Master approach him, and grabbed him by the chin with two fingers. He turned Cal's head upwards without the slightest bit of effort so that the furniture could not escape his icily threatening yet perfectly controlled gaze. "Now because you have served me well and without question for a relatively long period of time, I will grant you one more chance to answer my question directly and truthfully."

Cal hesitated, torn between speaking the truth, and thereby offending his Master, and disobeying his Master and facing his unforgiving wrath. He decided to just settle for the truth then, hoping that he risked less punishment by obeying yet simultaneously offending his Master than he would by challenging him. "I … I was just thinking ergh … I mean … back when I …"

When Iason realised that his penetrating gaze was rendering the furniture incapable of speech he let go of the boy's chin and allowed him to turn his gaze away. Cal was momentarily caught off guard by the small kindness, especially in a situation in which he had seriously angered his Master, but then proceeded to procure the required explanation for his supposed tardiness before leaving the coffee table after fulfilling his duties.

"Back in Guardian we would ergh … as you know there are no furniture in Guardian so … so people generally take care of themselves there … but … sometimes … well, sometimes we would also take care of each other … like I would sometimes pour one of my friends coffee … and sometimes they would pour me coffee and … well …", Cal hesitantly looked up, as if trying to gauge whether his Master already had an idea of where he was going with this. The next part was the hardest and the part Cal was sure would significantly enrage his Master again.

"Would this have anything to do with the most peculiar Ceresian habit of "not owing" anybody?", Iason unexpectedly interrupted before Cal could continue his reasoning.

"Ergh …", Cal was very surprised that his Master knew anything at all about the ways of Ceres, especially about their social behaviour.

"Well, yes, most of the time. But when you … when you do something small for your friends, it's not always useful or necessary for them to return the favour. So for something ergh small like … like pouring coffee … it is usually sufficient to ergh … give a verbal sign of appreciation …"

"You mean something along the lines of "well done" ?", Iason inquired. He hardly ever spent any conscious thought on it, but the fact of the matter was that all of his furniture were originally from Guardian, the same place where Riki had grown up and a place that shared many of its strange behaviours with its neighbour Ceres.

"Well, no… more like… "thank you" … Which is completely redundant and not required at all in this situation, I … I know! And I did not mean in the slightest that … that I was expecting anything like that! It's just that … well everything just had me thinking about it … and then I thought about it for too long and …" The boy suddenly fell down right before Iason's feet, terrified to even look up. "I apologize for inconveniencing you and lying to you and … and offending you, Master! It is my fault, I … I accept full responsibility and whatever punishment you deem fit for my indiscretions!"

At that Iason decided to end his interrogations before his furniture's heart gave out. He was supposed to meet Katze here in less than five minutes anyways, and it would not do to have a traumatised, distraught furniture around during a time like that. Katze may never let it be seen from his expressions yet Iason knew that he disliked having to witness the stress or punishment of another furniture, especially one that was still young, innocent and delicate like Cal. "Thank you for your honesty, Cal, that will be all. Just know that the next time you lie to me I will not be so lenient and you will suffer the consequences, which I assure you will be most unpleasant." The boy looked up in utter amazement as if he couldn't believe that he wasn't going to be severely punished on the spot for his offence. But then he quickly scrambled to his feet and exited the room while walking backwards and bowing, almost trapping himself in a garland of electric lights that decorated one of the nearby pine trees recently put up in the room.

The whole ordeal left Iason rather amazed himself at the new information on Ceres and thus on his Riki. The idea of an elite thanking a furniture for performing his duties was absurd. After all it was only normal that the furniture carried out their duties, and in exchange the elite provided for their livelihood and allowed them to live in the luxurious utopia that was Tanagura. Therefore there was no need to show any verbal signs of appreciation.

Showing dissatisfaction however often proved to be necessary, as furniture who did not perform their duties at the best of their ability had to be taught obedience through discipline. For a moment Iason wondered whether giving them appreciative remarks from time to time when they did well would also be beneficial to their good functioning. That would actually make sense, as it _was_ something that was often done towards pets who performed well. It was even a common practice to reward pets by giving them objects such as jewellery or toys meant solely for their personal amusement. As for Iason himself, being an elite, it had never even once crossed his mind to thank anyone for all he had been given, not even his creator Jupiter. He had been made an elite and had been so for all of his life, therefore it was only natural that he was given all that he desired as long as it did not go against any of Jupiter's regulations. He was at the top of the hierarchy and the only thing that was expected of him was to perform his duties to the required standards. If he did not meet those standards it would simply result in him being recycled. Thus is he performed within said requirements he would receive whatever it was that he wanted, within acceptable limitations (which apparently a mongrel pet did not entirely fall under). And if he did not he would seize to be. It was as easy as that.

However what Cal was talking about sounded very different from that. The way he explained it, there was no prior good behaviour or performance that solicited the action of giving somebody something. So then why was it done? On nothing but a whim, a spur of the moment irrational impulse? And the strangest thing of all was that he had done something very similar himself once. The day he first met Riki he should've handed him over to the police when he caught him trying to steal. It would've been the responsible, logical thing to do. The decision should've been easy enough, there was nothing other than the observing of a crime to consider. Yet he had irrationally decided to just let the matter go and to send the mongrel off with nothing but a warning.

While mentally analysing all of these confusing pieces of data, Iason was absently staring at one of the green pine trees decorated with golden garlands and crystal pendants that hung from it like icicles. _Why would he do something like that? Why would the children at Guardian do that? Just do something for somebody or give them something for no reason at all? That would be irrational and utterly pointless … wouldn't it?_

…...

ending theme:

 _Silent night, Holy night  
All is calm, all is bright  
Round yon Jupiter, mother and child  
Holy infant so perfect and mild  
Sleep in heavenly peace,  
Sleep in heavenly peace._

 _Silent night, Holy night  
Son of God, love's pure light  
Radiant beams from thy holy face  
With the dawn of redeeming grace,_

 _Elite, Lord at thy birth,_

 _Elite, Lord at thy birth._

 _Silent night, Holy night_

 _Humans quake, at the sight_

 _Glories stream from heaven above_

 _Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah._

 _Jupiter the Savior is born,_

 _Jupiter the Savior is born._

…

To Be Continued …

…...

Author's Notes:

So, what did y'all think? Any good?:) I'm planning on writing more of this by the way, I've got a total of 4, maybe 5, small chapters thought out for this little Christmas fic. So if you like what I'm doing, I can definitely write more ;)

Apologies for any unintentional blasphemy that may have occurred here, this is meant to be a piece of creative writing and definitely not a religious pamphlet of any kind lol ;) Just seems to me an AI like Jupiter really knows how to use religion for her own ends, as is made evident by the fact that the first thing she did after she'd seized the power from her creators was to proclaim herself a god cause you can't question those now can you ;)

It's a bit early for it still, but I'd like to conclude these notes with the old traditional Earthen best wishes: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!:D


	2. Christime in Ceres

Chapter 2: Christime in Ceres

Author's notes:

OK, so here's the next chapter, featuring Ceres' version of Christmas, I hope you'll enjoy reading it :D It's kinda funny cause in a way the residents from Ceres have a far better idea of what Christmas on Earth was really all about, whereas the Tanagurans have just kept the factual and material stuff and just left out any sentimental value that used to be attached to it. I've tried to also show that sad yet rather funny contrast a bit in Riki's confrontation with the shopkeeper in Midas, hopefully I've managed to do that?;)

…...

opening theme: Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody

…...

 _Dammit, why the fuck does it always have to snow like mad this time of year?!_ Despite the fact that Riki's bike was in fact a hover-bike, hovering slightly above the ground, and thus there was no risk of it slipping on the icy highway the snow seriously hindered both his vision and his ability to properly manoeuvre his bike. Although arguably his problems with manoeuvrability might also have had something to do with the extreme, neck-breaking speed he was flying at. Ever since the Tanaguran Blondy asshole had let him go several months back, he had felt like he was letting his fellow Bison gang members down because he simply had not been his usual fierce, spirited self. So now that the yearly festivities, if any activity taking place in the slums could really be called that, of Christime were approaching Riki wanted to make sure that he could get his hands on some decent presents or at the very least some good food and better booz than what they were used to in Ceres. And the only place a mongrel could possibly get stuff like that was Midas.

Unfortunately the best opportunities for obtaining such goods were also in the areas most patrolled by the notorious Midas cops known as the Darkmen. Moreover in the area Riki had chosen for his thieving purposes, a very touristic area called Sasan, the even more feared Vigilante Corpse of Midas were often active as well, especially during the holidays because then these Midas folks had nothing better to do apparently. The only advantage he had over these guys was his lack of a PAM-device, a chip all Midas citizens were obligated to wear that tracked their movements and made it impossible for them to venture outside of their designated area. Riki more or less felt sorry for those poor bastards, after having experienced what it was like to have to wear a pet ring with a gps-tracker while under the tyrannical "care" of Iason Mink. Riki shivered and momentarily flew single-handedly in order to zip up his leather jacket, although he wasn't certain whether it was the cold breeze or the bone-chilling thought of the elite that momentarily caused him to shiver. _Sure is bloody cold this year. I ought to get us some lighters and burnable materials while I'm here. Hell maybe I can even score us a space heater if I'm lucky._ But there was no such luck, as Riki was sneaking around one of the busier malls in the area he noticed that the place was literally crawling with cops. _Shit, how am I supposed to get anything with these fuckers around every corner?_

After prowling about for half an hour or so, Riki decided to give up and settle for a less frequented shopping street not too far from the Midas city gates, meaning he could probably manage a fast exit if trouble were to arise. As he was checking out the shopping window of a clothes store, he briefly wondered what the hell was up with all of those weird-ass spiky trees in there. Why would people want to buy something like that anyways? What were they actually for? Were they meant to be put on display or something? Must be some weird kind of fashion trend, although it was rather odd that they always appeared to be popping up around the same period. Using said strange trees as cover Riki actually succeeded in entering the store unnoticed, meaning the hardest part was over: now all he had to do was hide something under his jacket and get back out again without any alarms going off. It was crazy what he actually had to go through just to get something decent to drink, eat and wear. After having lived in Tanagura for three years Riki had to admit that it sure was easy to get sufficient nutrition while living there. Although arguably no proper clothing but at least there was central heating. Yet the price he'd had to pay for those luxuries had simply been too high. _Shit, I wonder what that elite prick is up to right now? He's probably at some fancy party or something, sipping a glass of freely offered bubbles and talking bullshit to some big-shot moronic idiot. And of course everyone's licking his feet and kissing his ass wherever he goes. Tsch, it's simply disgusting how some people just have no self-respect whatsoever._

As Riki was checking out the store's wears he noticed that they were also selling a sporty kind of sweater that didn't look half bad. _This is exactly what Sid could use, he's always complaining how he's so cold at night._ Riki looked to his left and right and checked for security cams, before putting on the sweater and zipping up his jacket on top of it. He decided to get out of there before he was caught, never a good idea to stick around the same store for more than ten minutes. As far as he could tell there were no security chips attached to the sweater so this should be a piece of cake. But as he nonchalantly walked through the entrance doors, again using the decorative foliage as cover, all of a sudden red lights started flashing all around him and a shrill beeping sound pierced through the air. _Shit!_ Riki quickly turned around to see if anyone from the store personnel was about to pursue him while simultaneously making his way through the entrance. However that also meant he wasn't really looking were he was going, so just as he was about to make a run for it he bumped right into the store manager, who happened to be standing just outside the store putting up some multi-coloured lights.

"Hey! You're the one who just triggered the alarm, aren't you, mongrel?!" The manager was a broad-chested, body-builder type so there was no way that Riki could defeat his guy once he was caught in the grip of those big arms bulging with muscles. Riki viciously kicked the man in the balls and jumped around him to escape, however the man used the wire of electric lights he was still holding as some kind of lasso and managed to catch him with it. "And just where do you think you're going, huh?! Some of us actually have to work to earn our own so there's no way I'm letting you get away without paying!"

"As if you'd even _let_ supposed scum like me pay you for this if I had that kinda money! This is the only way I have not to freeze to death out there cause people like you act like lap dogs and just bend over for Tanaguran tyranny!", Riki spat, sick and tired of always being treated like he was committing a crime just by existing and wanting to stay alive. The shop owner ignored his loud protests and dragged him inside the store, ripping his jacket off of his body and exposing the stolen goods. "You could at the very least have a decent look at what it is you're stealing, stupid mutt! This is clearly not your size …"

"That's cause it's not for me, you dumb baboon!"

"Are you expecting me to believe that you're running somebody's errands or something, slum scum?", the manager chuckled, as if such a thing would be completely ridiculous.

"It's for a fellow "slum scum" friend of mine OK! Who happens to be developing a serious viral infection cause he has to sleep in an old building with no central heating every night!" He was wasting his breath, he knew that much. But he just had to vent his frustration at some point and he'd rather do it towards this Midas bastard than towards his own gang members.

"Why would you do that, why would you risk so much just to get something that's not even for yourself?"

"Gee, I dunno! Maybe because I give a shit about people huh! But you egocentric bastards from Midas don't get that do you! The only thing you're thinking about is how to fill your own pockets to fulfil your own depraved desires at the expense of others!"

The man was silent for a few seconds, absently playing with his PAM-earring while still holding on to both Riki and the stolen sweater.

"Y'know what? I actually believe you, cause there's no way a punk like you could've survived in the slum for such a long time and be stupid enough to not even steal clothes in his own size. Oh, what the hell, you can have it, I'm gonna have to put these on sale soon anyways. They're from last year and nobody wants stuff from last year in Sasan." Riki stared at the store owner in utter amazement. _What the fuck?! I actually managed to get through to him!_ "Here, let me wrap it up for ya", the man said as he started putting sparkly gold and silver paper around the sweater and then stuck some kind of shiny red ribbon unto it.

"What the hell's that stuff for anyways?" Riki asked. "I mean, don't you usually put this kinda shit into shopping bags or something?"

The sturdy man looked up at Riki with a look of amazement almost identical to Riki's only a few moments ago. "You don't even know what a Mass offering is?"

"A what?..."

"You know, a Mass offering. During the annual celebrations of Jupiter Mass people buy stuff, wrap it up like this and then they put it under one of those pine trees, like you see over there, in their living room. And then they wait for the day of Jupiter Mass to unwrap them and use them as a sacrifice, y'know, as a tribute to Jupiter." The Midas citizen tried to explain.

"You wrap stuff up and put it under a fucking tree to honour Jupiter?" Riki burst out laughing. "That's _got_ to be the most ridiculous Tanaguran custom I've _ever_ heard of, and I've sure as hell heard about a _lot_ of crazy-ass customs those sick bastards indulge in!"

"Where would a slum mongrel like you have heard about Tanaguran customs?"

"Shit, you don't wanna know, man. Thanks a bunch for the sweater. I take it back, not all Midas folks are selfish motherfuckers. Just _most_ of them." And several minutes later Riki left on his hover-bike, carrying the sparkly "Mass offering" as if it were his most prized possession – which it probably was – with a broad smile on his face. _Sid is gonna love this! I don't need no fucking tree to put this under. Tsch, Midas crazy-asses!_

…

As Riki pushed his bike inside, having to plough through a considerably thick snow carpet, he saw that all of the other gang members were already there, huddling around a fire they'd managed to kindle using an old garbage can and a packet of stolen matches. "Hey guys, ready to rock?" Riki greeted them with a naughty smile as he shook the already melting snow from his hair and jacket while trying to hide the sparkly present behind his back. Norris and Sid smiled at him as they turned to greet him. He was resembling the old, spirited Riki they used to look up to more than usual tonight. Perhaps there was at least a chance he was going to get back to his old self sometime.

"Yo Riki. Shit man, where've you been all this time huh? And in this kinda weather no less, it's fucking freezing out there!", Sid shivered while huddling closer to the fire.

"What you got there? You managed to score some good booz or something?" Norris' eyes were suddenly sparkling with the excitement of a child hoping to get some candy. The Bisons usually never got this sentimental, but it was simply the effect Christime had on the residents of Ceres. It was a time during which the mongrels expressed their gratitude towards and truly revelled in the one thing of value they had: each other. "Nah, but I got something even better", Riki said with a big grin on his face as he revealed the package he had been hiding behind his back and handed it over to Sid, whose lips were actually slightly blue at this point and had a terrible cough.

"For me? Crap, guys, would you look at this! It looks all nice and sparkly…", Sid exclaimed as he held the package up next to the fire to make it sparkle even more, like a crow admiring his latest find. "But what is it, Riki? What's a poor chap like me gonna do with a fancy piece of decoration like this huh?"

"It's what's IN it, you silly donkey! You're supposed to open it!" Riki responded with equal cheer after seeing the warm glow in Sid's brown eyes, even if he didn't have the slightest idea yet what it was that Riki had managed to get him. Everybody looked on in suspense as Sid started unwrapping the mysterious package, curiosity and awe written all over their faces that were being illuminated by the cosily burning garbage can fire. As Sid uncovered the sweater and held it up to look at it, his eyes almost began to water. "Oh, Riki… You must've really risked your butt to get something like this…", Sid nearly sniffled.

"Well don't just stare at it! Go ahead, put it on already! I wanna see what it looks like on you." Sid got up and put on the sweater, just standing there and admiring the soft texture and the traditional grey and white knitted print on it.

"Shit man we can't see it properly like that! You gotta turn and stroll around… Like in a mannequin in a fashion show, y'know." The others looked at Riki questioningly, at that point Riki realised that neither of them had ever seen an actual fashion show, even on television cause they had no television set. With a sigh Riki got up and started demonstrating how Sid was supposed to walk to show off the sweater, adding his usual swagger to it while putting on a completely exaggerated version of a Tanaguran fashion show, mimicking a show he'd once been obligated to go to with Iason. But that had just been boring and in no way as fun as it was creating his own mongrel-style version. Soon all of the gang members were strutting about their headquarters showcasing pieces of garbage and laughing their asses off and nobody actually minded the temporarily lack of liquor that much anymore. As most of them were already drifting off to sleep, Riki satisfactorily observed how Sid carefully folded the piece of gold and silver wrapping paper and put it safely inside the pocket of his old jeans, after which he comfortably snuggled up inside his new, warm sweater and was off to sleep in no time at all. A greater present Riki could not have possibly asked for.

Yet he still felt like something was missing and without even consciously realising what he was doing, Riki fished the coin he'd been given al those years ago out of his pocket and started turning it around in his hands while trying to get to sleep. It was the very same coin Iason has given him as change for his "hush money" after Riki had dragged him to that lovehotel in Midas. Riki actually had no idea why he'd kept it all these years, let alone why he still had it now that he'd finally managed to regain his freedom and could leave the entire dreadful history with the creepy android behind him. Staring at the coin Riki remembered the conversation he'd had with one of his former co-workers at the black market a couple of years back. According to that dude this was an Aurora coin: a special kind of coin issued specifically for pets. It was made out of pure gold and an immensely popular and hard-to-come-by collectors' item in Midas. So if Riki were to sell it he could get more money for it than everything he had ever owned in his entire life put together. _Hell, I could throw one hell of a Christime party if I sold this._ But he just couldn't. Because his Ceresian principles and code of honour did not allow it: you did not sell a gift unless given explicit permission by the person who had given it to you. It was simply not done. In a place like the slum stuff of any kind was hard to come by, therefore gifting somebody else with one of your own few possessions was seen as a sign of mutual respect, thus selling a gift would be a very dishonourable thing to do. Of course there was no way a stuck-up, well-off psycho from Tanagura like Iason Mink would know about that, but still. Riki was not about to give up on his principles just because apparently hardly anyone else in Tanagura or Midas had any. For the second time that day, Riki caught himself thinking about Iason Mink. _Crap, when is this bloody pet conditioning gonna wear off!_ I have to stop thinking about that icy bastard already. Yet the image of those bright blue eyes that looked as if they were piercing his very soul and the memory of the feel of that silky, blonde hair in his hands did not leave him until at long last he fell asleep.

…

ending theme:

 _Flyin' through the snow_

 _On a one-man hover-bike_

 _Over the roads we go_

 _Laughin' all the way._

 _Bells on tail light ring_

 _Makin' spirits brite_

 _Oh what fun it is to ride_

 _And sing the sleighin' song tonite._

 _Jingle bells, jingle bells_

 _Jingle all the way!_

 _Oh what fun it is to ride on a one-man hover-bike, hey!_

 _Jingle bells, jingle bells_

 _Jingle all the way!_

 _Oh what fun it is to ride on a one-man hover-bike!_

….

TBC …

…...

Author's notes:

A bit short, I know, but I didn't feel like I had to add more to this chapter ;) I hope I managed to get that warm seasonal feel but without getting the mongrels out of character too much :) I'm sorry I've kinda ignored Guy here, but I just felt that lovelife trouble like that would mess up my "peaceful time of loving"-atmosphere :P But perhaps I could let Guy feature in the next chapter to try and make up for it ;) Anyone who wants to really see Guy in the next chap?

So gimme some reviews pls!:D I wanna know what you guys think and if you have any ideas as to how I could improve my writing, or maybe you've also got specific requests concerning the contents of the following chapters? I've got the general plotline pretty much worked out already, but I'm open to suggestions if I could add it into the mix :)


	3. All I Want for Christmas

Chapter 3: All I Want for Christmas

Author's notes:

And here's another small Christmas present for anybody who wants to read it ;) The celebrations of Jupiter Mass and Christime are about to get seriously mingled up (which I'm not sure is a bad or a good thing yet :P) and this chapter pretty much leads towards that. I also wanted to thank loly66 on Livejournal for giving me a great idea for the next chapter!:D However I've added a very unusual twist of my own (that's becoming my trademark, isn't it? lol), but what exactly that is will only become clear in the next chapter I think ;)

So I hope you'll all enjoy this new chapter!:D I know it's only a short one but it's more of a connector between the previous two chapters and the next chapter ;)

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opening theme: Wham! – Last Christmas (I gave you my heart)

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When Katze arrived at the Mink household, his Master was still staring out the large full-view window that offered one of the best views of the perfectly ordered, cold, metallic city of Tanagura and its little, seductive, neonlight sister city Midas. Unknown to Katze, Iason's android eyes were even capable of distinguishing the derelict, make-shift buildings of Ceres despite the distance and the lack of light sources in that area. For one reason or other his gaze almost automatically shifted towards that direction as soon as he started looking outside. Iason was actually standing so utterly motionless and quiet that one could have easily mistaken him for a perfectly sculpted marble statue of a Greek god wearing refined and fashionable white clothes. But Katze had more than enough experience with this element of stillness that his Master often displayed while in deep thought, not to mistake him for such a harmless sculpture. Trying to keep his breathing as silent as possible, Katze approached Iason as soundlessly as if he were the very animal he had been named after. After which he went to stand at a polite distance befitting a furniture, waiting for his Master to acknowledge his presence before speaking.

While waiting for his Master to end his musings and start the black market business talk, Katze took some time to admire the strategically put-up tasteful Jupiter Mass decorations that gave the penthouse a far more lively and warm impression than usual, as Iason was very much into a more modest, functionalistic style while using expensive, lavish materials that required very little external ornamentation. Moreover the presence of all that green added quite a bit of colour to a usually purely white interior. Next to the greenery most of the penthouse was decorated in gold, yet the divinely beautiful elite's hair was still the sparkliest gold in the place and Katze's attention was quickly drawn away from the decorations and back to the still figure of his Master. Almost as if sensing Katze's eyes returning to rest on his back, Iason spoke, quiet but loud enough for his former furniture's perceptive ears to pick up: "Jupiter Mass. A most peculiar time of year, isn't it? One would almost think the celebration of the very force that keeps this city alive serves as a reminder of how dead her children's personal lives actually are."

Katze wasn't sure whether or not he was supposed to respond to that comment, and not even whether or not he was supposed to have heard it in the first place. But then again Iason never really had the habit of speaking out loud when he was not addressing anyone specific. Katze decided to take the statement as a cue for a comment, seeing as how it hardly sounded like a merely informative statement.

"Perhaps a life requires more forces than just the rational, material kind that Jupiter Mass is a celebration of", the black market broker carefully spoke, keeping his voice even and calm yet slightly submissive, almost as if asking a question rather than making a statement.

"In that you might be correct, Katze", Iason responded, now turning away from the window and fixing his piercing arctic blue eyes unto Katze's feline amber ones. "However it strikes me as rather strange that such sentiments would bother me more than usual during a time of celebration."

"Doesn't sound that strange to me. In Ceres they actually have a celebration of sorts as well during this time of year, however it is a … very different kind of celebration."

This was the first that Iason Mink had ever heard of such a celebration in Ceres, he was unaware of the fact that there even existed a concept like that in such a run-down, impoverished area.

"You mean to say that even mongrels have an occasional need for something as civilised and luxuriant as a party, Katze? And if that be the case, then how exactly do they go about funding such an event?" Iason inquired, sounding far less interested than Katze knew he was. Everything that involved Riki interested the android nowadays, and over the last couple of months he had been nonchalantly yet consistently making inquiries about Riki's well-being and pretty much anything related to Ceres. All of which led Katze to believe that his flawless elite Master was in fact feeling increasingly lonely without the spirited mongrel by his side.

"I wouldn't go as far as to call it an "event" really. In Ceres there might not be any financial means to sustain a materialistic kind of gathering, however that does not mean that there are no occasional celebrations…", as he spoke Katze noticed how his Master began to show all the signs of having encountered yet another human concept he could not make his superhuman, rational mind understand.

Encouraged by Iason's entirely blank face and lack of an immediate response, Katze continued. "What I mean to say is that there is no actual need for any material goods to have a party, merely a need for good company. In Ceres they have a celebration called Christime, I actually believe it goes back on the same Earten tradition Jupiter Mass goes back on. During said celebration groups of friends, mostly members of the same gang, get together and just drink, laugh, tell stories and simply enjoy each other's company. It's a time to appreciate and celebrate your ties with other people because really that's all the inhabitants of Ceres have to celebrate. So from where I'm sitting it makes perfect sense that it would bother someone if they did not have their loved ones by their side during such a time", Katze concluded, as usual during these Riki-related conversations he was a bit unsure as to whether or not he had overstepped. Iason asked for information Katze was never really sure he was ready to receive, least of all from a man who was officially his property and could thus very easily be subjugated to his wrath when suggesting anything even slightly offensive or overly familiar.

"I see. Apparently a different definition or understanding of the concept of celebrations and festivities has formed in Ceres. In Tanagura a party indeed requires several participants, in all probability what is called a party in Eos would require a lot more participants than such a "Christime" gathering would. However it is not a requirement that all of these participants are closely related and which participants are invited to an event is socially determined, meaning one is even obligated to invite people whose company one does not even enjoy", Iason mused while his eyes went back to the window and the tiny spot there in the distance where Katze theoretically knew Ceres ought to be located.

But just as Katze began to hope that that would be the end of his Master's prying into Ceresian concepts he did not understand or know about, Iason continued: "Is there anything else that is characteristic of these "Christime" celebrations in Ceres, Katze? It seems not that out of the ordinary to me that mongrels would sit together in groups, is this not something they do on an everyday basis?"

"Well, yes. However during Christime it's special because people really show their appreciation. For example there's this tradition called presents."

"Presents? As in presentations?"

"No, not really. I mean, yes, they do present something to each other. Meaning they give each other something, usually an object of little value."

"If the object is of little value, then what is the point in presenting it to someone? Surely something worth presenting should be an object of at least aesthetically pleasing qualities?" Iason inquired, making a comparison in his mind with both a presentation of information during an elite meeting and a pet show where pleasing pets were being presented.

"It's not really about the object, but more about the act of giving it. Because, well, how do I explain it…"

"They do something for each other for no rational reason at all, in order to show their appreciation? And when they have received this "present", they thank each other?"

Katze was completely caught off-guard. _He already knows! How could he know something like that? Where could he have learned it? Is he bothering other people with questions about Ceres as well now?_

"Yes, that's entirely correct. They exchange these objects and then they thank each other and it is something that… well that strengthens their social bond with a person."

"Very well then, Katze, I believe I have gained a sufficient enough understanding of this concept." Just as Katze was about to begin his talk on how the black market had been fairing that week, his Master spoke again: "What kind of object do you think Riki would want as a present?"

Again Katze was utterly gobsmacked. "You… wish to… give Riki a Christime present?"

"Perhaps it ought to be an object that symbolises my devotion to our bond? I think I know just the thing for that."

Katze thought for a moment, before he realised what object his Master was referring to. "If I may offer some advice, my Lord? If you are planning on returning Riki his pet ring I believe Riki might interpret it slightly differently than as a sign of your ergh devotion. I believe he would interpet it as a sign of your ownership…"

"Is that not the same as devotion then?" Iason seemed genuinely convinced that those two concepts were identical, judging from the slight surprise that could be derived from an almost unnoticeable frown on his beautiful, perfectly symmetrical face.

"Well, no. I mean, not in Ceres. Most relationships there are between equals, actually being equal is pretty much a requirement for a relationship there, because they believe all relations should be on a voluntary basis."

"So I must give something that demonstrates equality if I wish to show my appreciation of my relation with him? All right, that will be sufficient information on the matter, Katze. I must see to the task of preparing a present for Riki straight away. You can come back tomorrow evening to discuss the black market affairs."

 _Iason Mink is postponing business in order to go look for a Christime present for a mongrel pet? What in Jupiter's name is this world coming to!_

…...

When Riki got up late in the afternoon, after staying up all night while having fun with the other members of his gang, he felt unusually rested and chipper. Yet he wasn't much of a morning person at all so the cheerfulness of the previous night must have had a truly healthy effect on his psyche. As he put on his boots and wanted to step outside to go for a walk, he was surprised to see an unknown box standing just on his doorstep that definitely had _not_ been there the night before. _What the fuck is this?_ Riki, who never was any good at suppressing his natural curiosity even if it was bound to get him into serious trouble, picked up the box and started examining it. It wasn't the kind of box you ever saw in Area 9 either, it looked more like something that would look more in its place in the shop window of an expensive store in downtown Midas. Its colour was a bright and shiny silver – the expensive more modest kind, mind you, not the cheap and kitschy kind - and it sparkled almost as if it was trying to seduce him to open it. A very soft, very nice-looking white silk ribbon surrounded the box and Riki could've sworn it even smelled nice. Sweet and serene like lilies and lotus flowers, yet with a sharp hint of freshness. _Shit, I could've sworn I've smelled this somewhere before. But where?_

Curious as to what was inside the beautiful box – which would have actually made a damn fine present in and of its own – Riki started carefully shaking it next to his ear. He thought he could hear something rather small yet heavy move slightly in there. Riki simply could not take the suspense any longer, and without having even a clue as to where the mysterious box came from, he carefully started prying the silk ribbon loose. He could tell by the feel of it that it was real Tanaguran silk and not the cheaper counterfeited kind you often got in Midas. And he could tell because he had occasionally slept in silk sheets during his three years in Eos. Not even after that thought did any alarm bells start going off in Riki's head and not even once did he wonder how a clearly Tanaguran Mass sacrificial gift had somehow found its way from underneath someone's fancy Mass tree in Eos to his stinky, wet doorstep right next to the Ceres junkyard. It took Riki quite a while to get the box open without damaging the ribbon or the box. But when he finally got it open and looked at the contents, his sparkling eyes became almost as huge as the Amoyan twin moons. _There's no fucking way!_ Inside the box was a familiar ring, one that Riki over the last three and a half years had come to associate with the blonde elite who he had tried to seduce that fateful night at the Sasan gates of Midas. Riki immediately snapped the box shut again, almost as if it contained a poisonous snake. _There's just no fucking way this is real!_ _There's just no way Iason fucking Mink sent this to me!_

No longer capable of sitting still while thus agitated, Riki jumped up and started stalking around the room, every now and then quickly glancing in the direction of the box, as if checking. Not to see if it was still there but rather to check if it had been there in the first place and had not been a figment of his own imagination. _What the fuck am I supposed to do now?! I can't just do nothing! Shit, Jupiter knows what else is gonna show up at my doorstep if I don't do anything!_ Riki threw a few nervous glances in the direction of the corner of the ruins of the old factory, where his fellow gang members were still sleeping soundly. How was he supposed to even contact that Tanaguran motherfucker? Without waking the other Bisons, Riki snatched the silver box up, put it safely inside of his jacket pocket and then took out his bike to make his way to Katze's black market headquarters in Midas.

However when Riki got there his former black market co-workers told him that the boss had gone out and would be on some urgent business for the rest of the evening. _Shit! How the fuck am I supposed to contact Mink now?!_ What was the meaning of the silver box, anyways? If he didn't know any better he would think it was meant to be a Christime present, wrapped up as a Jupiter Mass sacrifice. But… what if it _was_ a present? It wasn't impossible that Iason could've found out that something like that existed in Ceres, right? Hell, the blonde bastard had spies everywhere in both Tanagura and Midas, it really wouldn't be much of a bother for him to find something like that out. The real question of course was: why _would_ he bother? And why did he send him that ring, of all things! Riki just couldn't wrap his head around it, all he knew was that he needed to confront Iason on this matter. The sooner the better. As he was randomly riding his bike around Midas, all of a sudden he hit the breaks. Of course! The ring! He didn't _need_ Katze at all to get into Eos Tower, because the doors automatically opened if a registered ring approached them. _Shit, why didn't I think of that sooner!_ Riki turned his bike around and started following Orange Road, the icy wind blowing his black hair into an even unrulier shape and snowflakes sticking to his black mongrel-style clothes as he headed straight to the gates that separated Midas from Tanagura. _I'll be damned if I'll let that bastard get the better of me! I don't owe anybody anything! Not as long as I have a say in the matter._ But despite his harsh curses, Riki's heart was rapidly beating in his chest, the rate of his breath was increasing exponentially and his blood felt almost as if it were being brought to the boiling point. _Iason fucking Mink had sent him a bloody Christime present!_

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ending theme: Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas

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TBC …

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Reviews pls?:D

It's kinda hot off the press so it might have a few typos or minor errors in it, do let me know if that is the case so I can correct them ;) Or if something's bothering you about my writing style you can also let me know of course :)


	4. Crashing the Party

Chapter 4: Crashing the Party

Author's notes:

Hi there everyone, it's finally Christmas!:D And that means looots of eating, drinking and lazying about with family, but also extra writing time for me!:) So here's the next chapter, it's meant to be the climax of scandal in Eos :P My sincere thanks to loly66 from Livejournal for suggesting this great idea of Riki crashing Iason's Christmas party!:) So I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy this little extra present!:D

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opening theme: Chris Rea – Driving Home for Christmas

= the song Riki is singing an adapted version of

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 _How dare that pompous Tanaguran ass use Ceres' own customs against me like this! What the fuck's up with this anyways, I thought this sick bastard was done with me?!_ Riki simply did not know what to make of it, and despite his hostile line of thought a part of him could not help but be excited about this unexpected present. Never in all his life had he expected Iason Mink, of all people, to send him a Christime present or to even understand the concept of gift exchange. For someone like Iason Mink everything in this world was for sale and everything therefore also had its price. Meaning poor people owned nothing and rich people owned everything, including – if they so desired – the poor people apparently. A concept like owing somebody or giving somebody a present was completely foreign to him, that had been clear enough the first time Riki had met the cold-hearted elite. He had seemed genuinely surprised when Riki pursued him after he had neglected to sell him out to the cops. And later at the lovehotel he had expressed how he considered Riki's payment to be hush money, demonstrating how he did not understand that Riki's payment was more like a way of thanking him than shutting him up. Although arguably any opportunity to shut up the blonde obsessive freak had to be grasped with both hands.

 _So apparently he's been thinking about me all this time, why else would he have even bothered to come up with a stunt like this? Just you wait, you bloody blonde piece of elite!_ Truth be told, Riki had to admit that he had not seen this one coming, not in a million years. Somehow that beautiful, snotty bastard always managed to catch him off-guard, there was simply no telling what that devious, witty mind would come up with next. If that asshole thought he could keep on just harassing Riki like that and challenge him without a response he was sorely mistaken! So Iason liked Christime surprises, huh? Riki would give him one all right! _The best way to fight fire… is with fire! I'll give his pretty, perfect ass a bloody inferno he won't forget in a long time!_ And while he was at it he might also try to figure out what in the hell was going on between the two of them. Was it merely the elite trying to pick on a lowlife nobody just for fun? The longer this whole thing with the elite lasted, the more Riki began to think that something other than just that had to be at work here…

While all of these confused thoughts flashed through Riki's head he was speeding along Orange Road at a mileage that was not acceptable even on such a huge and busy highway. He flew right past any red lights, almost causing an accident on several occasions and earning him a lot of angry honking and "Are you completely nuts, you stupid mutt?!"-exclamations.

All of a sudden, while racing through the overwhelmingly chaotic messy myriad of colours, sounds and other stimuli that was Mistral Park traffic, Riki was reminded of an old Christime song that he and Guy used to sing around this time of year. One they would race to each year when they were younger and more careless, and still a couple without complications. Almost without thinking, Riki started loudly roaring that song while the distant outer buildings of Tanagura came closer and closer. "I'm driving home for Christime, hell I'm moving down that line! And it's been so fucking long but I'll get there! Oooh I got the red lights on the run, but I'm driving home for Christime, yeah! Get my feet on holy fucked-up ground! So I sing for you, loud so YOU CAN HEAR ME! When I get through and…", Riki became a bit unsettled as he passed into Tanagura and could already spot the threatening sparkly peak that was Eos Tower in the distance despite the heavy snow-fall. "… and I feel you near me." It felt almost as if those icy arctic pools of bright blue were already resting on him and saw him coming from the heights of that cursed prison tower Riki had spent all those years in, all his humanity stripped from him along with his clothes and honour. _I'll be damned if I let him degrade me like this again without serious "consequences"! I'm coming to bring you a present of my very own, Iason Mink, and you'll accept it whether you like it or not!_

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It was nearing the official starting time of Iason Mink's renowned annual Jupiter Mass party and while Cal was running around like a nervous flurry of champagne flutes and tasteful, delicate-looking appetizers, the first elite guests were already arriving. After doing a final inspection of all of the celebration preparations – including several huge, loaded banquet tables and a shining pyramid of champagne-filled crystal glasses – the elegant host started moving towards the hallway to welcome his guests. He did not move in a hurry of course, as Iason Mink was never in a hurry, he was always perfectly calm and composed and nothing unexpected ever occurred during his decadent yet elegant, perfectly organised party. As he approached his guests, Raoul noticed how Iason had dressed rather unusually colourful for the occasion. Rather than his usual snowy pristine and therefore cold aloof white ensemble, Iason was wearing black close-fitted rather sexy leggings which truly showed off the slim shape of his long legs, shiny gold nearly knee-high boots that accentuated the golden shine of his divine blonde hair and an almost painfully bright red open tunic, under which he wore a white classy shirt with an elegant sash. Of course each and every item Iason's outfit consisted out of was not only perfectly acceptable for an elite of his class in Tanagura but also of the finest quality. However the way Iason had combined the different items of clothing and the unusually bright colour of the tunic – especially as opposed to his usual all-white look – made him stand out even more than any one of the artfully decorated pine trees in the room.

After Iason had graciously and politely greeted his esteemed guests – all Blondies like himself although several prominent elite from slighty lower classes would also be attending this gathering – Raoul discretely gestured that he would like to speak to him alone for a moment.

"Are your best wishes of such a personal kind that they require such a private setting that you would take me away from my newly arrived guests, Raoul?", the icy yet vibrantly coloured host of the party inquired with a slightly arched perfectly fair eyebrow. "Honestly, Iason, I do realise that your young furniture is under a lot of pressure during these busy days, especially with his limited experience in the organisation of high-class events as your annual party. However I do feel the youth has been rather haphazard and not very tactful in his selection of items of clothing for this evening…"

As Raoul spoke Iason's bright blue gaze moved back towards the snowy window, almost as if a sixth sense had informed him that there was something worthy of his notice to observe in the direction of Orange Road in Mistral Park. "Iason?", Raoul tried again.

"I apologise my friend, I am afraid I was temporarily distracted from your undoubtedly very interesting line of conversation. You were saying?"

"About the rather extravagant clothing your furniture has selected?" Iason looked towards Cal, who almost tripped over one of the decorative trees while running around balancing heavily-loaded trays when he noticed his Master's eyes on his form.

"I do not see anything even remotely reminiscent of such a terminology, Raoul. My furniture has not seen fit to wear anything out of the ordinary for this event, I believe. Do you perhaps feel he should have made himself appear more aesthetically pleasing?" Iason had always considered functionality and loyalty to be more important than looks in a furniture, but he knew that Raoul – being a pet geneticist – paid more attention to such matters with his own furniture.

"That is not what I meant, Iason. What I meant to say is…", all of a sudden those bright green eyes slightly widened and he seized his speech mid-sentence at the realisation that his questioning of style did not in fact apply to his friend's furniture but rather to his friend himself.

Iason caught on quickly to what it was Raoul was implying, having known the rather facially expressive elite for a long time and following the direction of his gaze towards Iason's own form. "Why Raoul, such a questioning is truly unusual. Is it not you who always has such a preference for rather extravagant colours, my friend?", Iason chuckled while gesturing to Raoul's current lilac and gold ensemble.

"What I mean to say is that it is not in your habit to display yourself in such a fashion, Iason. Probably also because there is no need at all for it, as a more modest style serves to better accentuate your natural features", Raoul turned his aristocratic face – which would be blushing had that not been impossible for an android face - slightly away from Iason's and lowered his voice in an attempt to make his statements sound less probing.

"Why seeing as how tonight's party is supposed to be a celebration, it seemed only fitting to me that I would wear something a bit more… lively… for the occasion", Iason responded, as he managed to grab a flute of champagne from the wildly moving tray Cal was still carrying around while looking around, worrying that he had forgotten to attend to an important last-minute preparation for the party.

"Surely more lively does not necessarily imply less… Never mind. I apologize, my friend, it is not my place to question such matters", Raoul used the opportunity of observing another group of newly arrived elite to temporarily turn his gaze away again from Iason's supposedly too-extravagant outfit.

"Less…? Please, Raoul, if you actually bother to express any such personal concerns regarding my appearance, do see it through all the way", Iason responded, a wickedly witty twinkling appearing in his bright blue eyes, making them appear more like a restless ocean than a serene glacier. But this apparently escaped Raoul's notice, as he continued to apologise without actually stating what it was he had almost said and thus needed to apologise for.

As more elite came towards them to greet their Head of the Syndicate, Iason's eyes only sparkled with even more of such subtle mirth, as all of his fellow elites' eyes were immediately both drawn to and apparently slightly disturbed by the bright colour of his attire. After this a more thorough inspection of his appearance occurred, during which the combination of the tight black leggings and the not especially long tunic that only came about mid-thigh led to his guests stumbling over their words and in some cases even outright forgetting what it was they were going to compliment him on. _Looks like this year's party is not going to be as boring as I was expecting after all._

If only he knew just how unexpected things were about to become during this elitist celebration….

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As Riki's hoverbike approached the monumental, marble staircase that led up to the main entrance of Eos Tower he did not even slow down and raced straight in, not bothering with the elevator and just ignoring the security guards that started chasing him, he aimed the nose of his bike straight up and flew vertically along the transparent glass elevator shafts until he reached the top floor, where his former Master's penthouse was located.

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As the evening proceeded and the conversations between the elite endlessly went on in a way that very nicely camouflaged how the conversations were really about nothing at all, Iason's attention continuously strayed from the speaker's utterings to his own thoughts on his mongrel. _I wonder if he has actually understood what I am implying with the "present" I have sent him. Unless he has settled for selling it? Although I must wonder what Midas idiot would be stupid enough to purchase such an object._

"…. the whole notion of Jupiter Mass going back on any tradition other than the glorification of our great deity is simply preposterous. And an Earthen tradition to boot, well, the chances of that are close to nothing. Would you not agree, Lord Mink?", Gideon Lagat spoke while he turned towards his host and used the momentary moment of silence to elegantly nip at his champagne glass.

"Actually I have heard said rumour before on many a dealing with several of Amoy's other city-states, and I've recently come to believe that it must at the very least contain a partial truth." After that all of the elite in the group were momentarily tongue-tied, as Lord Lagat had been spending the better part of the last half hour building up his argument on how Jupiter Mass going back on an Earthen tradition was entirely impossible. But of course Iason, whose mind had been in Ceres with his beloved Riki that entire time, was not even aware of this.

"Why yes, the whole point of a rumour is of course that several independent utterances are made over a certain period of time. However that does not mean that there is any truth to the matter at all, probably someone who was jealous of Tanagura's thriving economy just constructed this out of his own imagination in order to make it appear as if we owed at least part of our great culture to such a backwater planet as Earth", Lagat continued as if entirely undisturbed by Iason's clear disagreement.

"I am positive that there is more at work in this case than mere rumour brought on by those among who Tanagura is unpopular, Gideon. Seeing as how Tanagura is not the only place descended from the original Abyss crew that still honours such a tradition at this time." Again all the elite in the room stared as if momentarily struck by lightning. What other place could Lord Mink possibly be referring to? Surely he must, as everybody else of any education, know that all of the other city-states except Midas, which was practically a part of Tanagura and had no celebrations that could in any way be distinguished from the Jupiter Mass ones in Tanagura, had been founded by off-worlders who had not originated from Earth?

"With all due respect, Lord Mink, but might I inquire which Amoyan city-state it is you are referring to, where there ought to be celebrations of this sort as well?" Orphe Zavi cut in, trying to resolve Lord Lagat's growing tension after being so bluntly disregarded in his well-constructed argument and being called by his first name at a public gathering at that.

"Why I would not go as far as to call it a city-state, for I do believe it is neither large nor economically prosperous enough for such a label…", Iason continued, purposely goading on his fellow elite, who were becoming more agitated by every second this near-argument with Lord Lagat went on. After having patiently taken the time to get himself another glass of champagne and calmly drinking approximately half of it, their host finally continued his clarification. "It has recently reached my ear, from a former household employee of mine, that apparently there is a celebration in Area 9 at the exact same time as Jupiter Mass that, by some residents there, is also believed to go back on the Earthen tradition. Therefore it would only be logical to deduce that both celebrations ought to go back on the same tradition."

"Area 9? You mean to say that this lowly scum have seen fit to just take a Tanaguran tradition and twist it to their own petty needs?"

"Oh no, quite the contrary, my dear Gideon. It seems to me that Ceres has continued the Earthen tradition for a very long time even after Tanagura had taken it and… How exactly did you put it just now?... "twisted" it to its own "petty needs" ", Iason finished while Raoul's mouth actually fell open and he stood there gaping like a goldfish on land for several seconds before having the sense to shut his mouth. He was thus almost grateful when Iason's young furniture rather rudely disturbed them with a clearly distressed look on his face: "Master! I.. I apologise for bothering you while you are obviously in conversation but… but there is a matter that I thought ought to be brought to your attention!", Cal continued and then waited for permission to continue speaking, nervously turning his eyes away from the group of now nearly ten elite that were currently crowding around Iason to hear what more insults he was about to hurl Gideon's way.

"Then by all means, Cal, enlighten us…", the Lord of the House stated, after which his furniture had no idea what he meant by those words and visibly started wrecking his brain to figure out what it was that his Master was expecting him to do.

"By Jupiter, just tell him what the apparently urgent problem is, furniture!", Raoul burst out before he could get a better grasp on his emotions, which were definitely spiralling out of control after Iason's previous speech that had nearly bordered on sedition.

"I.. I.. I just had Eos security on the phone, my Lord. And… and apparently they spotted a… an ergh… uninvited guest heading this way…"

"Oh, honestly, there is nothing to worry about! Security keeps a very tight check on the elevators during this kind of event, don't they, Iason?", Raoul spoke while drinking some more champagne, perhaps in the hope of becoming drunk and thus ignorant to all the ruckus his best friend was causing on his own party. Not that it would be much good seeing as how his android body was perfectly capable of dealing with large amounts of alcohol that no human organic liver would be able to process.

"But Sir, they told me that apparently the intruder flew in on a hoverbike without even bothering to descend… what I mean to say is that he would not need to get into an elevator to…"

But they never found out what else the distraught furniture was going to add to his urgent explanations as the next moment everybody at the gathering was filled with utter shock and near-terror. Even to the extent where over one hundred elite were miraculously rendered completely speechless…

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After having driven his bike up to the top floor of the skyscraper, Riki finally descended from his vehicle in a cat-like jumping movement. The furniture standing at the door to receive potential late-comers did not even get a chance to forbid him to enter, as he was already strolling inside before they had had any time to get over their initial fright at the unexpected and entirely rude arrival of an ill-mannered mongrel, of all creatures!

As the mongrel, dressed in an old pair of worn jeans with several tears in them, rather dusty-looking heavy boots and black leather biker-jacket, simply barged into the elite-filled, extravagantly decorated room the entire crowd just went completely quiet in a matter of seconds. Ignoring the disapproving, extremely hostile looks he was receiving from the guests nearest the doors through which he had just burst inside, Riki walked right up to the middle of the room and even climbed on top of the low stage that had – unknown to him – been set up for the pet performance later that evening. The wild dog even had the audacity to take the microphone set up on the stage out of its standard and exclaim: "What the fuck is this, an elitist prick tea party of some sort? Where can I find the blonde asshole that usually resides in this place, huh? Iason Mink! Show yourself, you bastard!"

Everyone continued to look upon the uncouth scene in utter shock, to the point that even the security guards were hesitant to intervene even while this farce was going on. But not the host of the party, as he calmly and graciously – as if not perturbed in the slightest by this unexpected turn of events – strode towards the unwelcome guest and ascended the stage in order to face him directly, incidentally also in front of all of his elite guests' prying eyes. "Why Riki, how nice of you to attend our small celebration tonight. I suppose you are hardly to blame for your importune lateness and lack of sufficient dress, seeing as how indeed my invitation did not come with any further information or details considering this gathering. I do hope you will forgive my small slip in etiquette?", Iason spoke while keeping on his best pokerface – even a supposedly gracious small smile accompanying it – and maintaining a perfectly even and civilised voice.

"Yeah well you didn't give me much of a choice, did you, jerkface? Thanks a bunch for the present, asshole, although it was not exactly what I'd been asking Santa to bring me this year…", Riki responded, while still having the microphone switched on for all to hear. "But as you fucking well know, I don't have shit to wrap up all shiny 'n nice for you, so I'm just gonna have to settle for a lil' something I'll have to unpack for you then." After this Riki set the microphone aside and fearlessly, without even a trace of awe, walked up to Iason until they were standing only an inch from each other. Fortunately for Riki there happened to be standing an elevation of some sort right next to Iason on which he could step so they were actually nearly face-to-face without Riki having to strain his neck too much. "I suppose you did not put that up-step here with me in mind, huh? Or did ya now? You elite bastards always plan everything in detail, don't ya? Jeez, so sorry to mess up your planning but I've got some last-minute plans of my own…", Riki boldly spoke while staring Iason straight in the face, apparently not hesitant at all to speak in such a rude fashion to his superiors. _Damn does he always remain so bloody calm whatever the situation?! How many times must I publicly offend this freak before he finally shows some fucking emotion on that snotty perfect face! Just wait, asshole, you're in for it this time!_ "So well here's your present, have a merry merry Jupetime or whatever the hell you call it around here, and I really don't give a shit whether you enjoy it or not, but knowing how deeply sick and perverted you are, I'm sure you will", the ill-mannered, audacious mongrel finished.

All the elite in attendance were gazing upon the spectacle by now and even the security guards who had entered in the mean time were just standing there watching intently rather than doing their job and removing said mongrel from the stage and the penthouse. Just as the audience thought things could not get any worse, the mongrel went to stand on tiptoe and moved his head towards that of their host and Syndicate Leader while simultaneously grabbing several strands of long, shiny blonde tresses by which he was apparently trying to pull Iason's head towards his own. After that the piece of street scum managed to bridge the distance between them and placed a long, fierce and dirty kiss unto Lord Mink's perfect, pretty elite lips.

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All of the elite attendants at the Jupiter Mass party of Iason Mink gasped in utter shock and disbelief as they stared at the entirely unbelievable scene that was in front of them. The security guards took the simultaneous gasping all around the room as their cue, and moved in to ascend the stage and rescue Lord Mink from the unwanted attentions of that filthy cockroach that had somehow found its way inside Tanagura's centre of propriety.

But just as one of them was about to grab the disgusting mutt by the hair, they all stopped in their tracks as Lord Mink's perfectly elegant, pale hand moved up in a universal gesture the intent of which could not possibly be misunderstood. _Stop._ Everyone continued to look on, the amazement at this entire situation so extreme that even the usually stoic and distant elite had no choice but to display at least some of that inner shock on their perfect faces. Several of them even started whispering comments along the lines of "How dare that stinking mutt even enter this place and gaze upon Lord Mink, let alone dare to assault him like that?!" and "Why does Lord Mink not have this piece of scum thrown out straight away? He ought to be shot on the spot for a disrespectful, lowly act such as this!"

After a short moment of silence, the serene and powerful voice of Iason Mink echoed through the room without even the slightest trace of anger or dismay in it: "Honestly, Riki. Surely you must know the value of what it is I have bestowed on you? You are going to have to do much better than that if you wish to present me with anything of near equal value."

"Is that right, you sick piece of shit? Well what the fuck else have I got to give, huh? You should've thought of that before you sent your crap my way!", the offender shouted in the direction of the supreme head of the Tanaguran government while making wild, threatening gestures only inches from his face.

"Oh my objection is not related to the nature of your gift, but rather to the extent of it. Do such innocent, chaste pecks really make for good entertainment in Area 9, then? If that be the case, please at least have the decency to allow me to show you how it is far more properly done in Tanagura…", Iason graciously spoke. Before Riki even had a chance to register the meaning behind his fancy wordings, the blonde had grabbed him by his wild black hair with his right hand while simultaneously wrapping his left arm around the young mongrel's small waist, pulling him closely against his own bigger artificial body. After this swift but well-calculated move, Iason proceeded by giving Riki the kiss of a lifetime: he hardly held any of his ardent passion back while plunging his adept tongue into his lover's mouth and stared into Riki's black obsidian depths as if a blue, raging hellfire would burn straight out of his irises and consume his prey alive.

After which the entire party almost literally came crashing down while both havoc-wreckers had become completely unaware and uncaring about what happened in the world outside of their partner…

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ending theme: Lady Gaga – Christmas Tree

 _Light me up put me on top let's falalalalalalalala_

 _Light me up put me on top let's falalalalalalalala_

 _The only place you wanna be is underneath my Christmas tree_

 _The only place you wanna be is underneath my Christmas tree_

 _Ho, ho, ho, under the mistletoe_

 _Yes everybody knows, we will take off our clothes_

 _Yes, if you want us to, we will_

 _You – oh oh ah – Christmas_

 _My Christmas tree's delicious_

 _You – oh oh ah – Christmas_

 _My Christmas tree's delicious_

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To Be Continued…

Author's notes:

Merry Christmas everyone!:D I hope _my_ gift was sufficient at least, even if Riki's supposedly wasn't :P

Mistletoe's featuring in the next chapter (sorry to keep you all waiting, just had to make this as scandalous as possible lol) :D If you guys leave me alive in your reviews after this totally shocking Christmas event, that is ;)

Reviews pls!:D


	5. Under the Mistletoe Part 1

**Chapter 5: Under the Mistletoe: Part 1**

Author's notes:

Hi everyone!:) I know, I know, it's been waaay too long since I've last updated, sorry! The chapter is becoming rather long in comparison to previous chapters, so I've decided to split it up into two parts so you can already read this part while I finish up with the next part, which should be finished lastly by the end of this week ;) I'm guessing this is kind of like "figs after Easter" as we say in Dutch, with it being a Christmas fic several weeks after Christmas, but I'm hoping you guys really, really like figs and don't mind the lateness of my timing ;) Also I've never actually written anything quite this explicit before so here goes nothing! Anyways, maybe this late Christmas fic can get you back into the holiday mood ;) I hope you'll enjoy reading this and pls let me know what you think in a review!:)

 **Warning:** explicit sexual scenes ahead! You don't like = you don't read

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 _Opening theme_ : Kylie Minogue – Let it Snow

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As the snow-flakes were continuing to steadily fall down outside of the windows of the monumental, lushly decorated penthouse, the elegant host of the classy Mass Party spoke: "My dearest and finest guests." The mongrel in front of him – along with everyone else in the room - was still too gobsmacked to react to what had just happened. "I believe this signals the end of this annual gathering. I hope you have all had a wonderful time here tonight but unfortunately I will have to cut short the celebrations."

It took at least five more minutes of staring in utter disbelief and relative silence for his elite guests to gather the meaning of his words and for the crowd to start dissipating as one by one all the invited started filing out of the main doors to the penthouse. Already before they had fully exited, many of Iason's brethren were whispering amongst each other of what an unacceptable insult it was for Lord Mink to put an end to the party over two hours before the planned end of it. Not to mention the shocking performance with that mongrel that preceded the party's end. Had there not been talk of Lord Mink even owning a mongrel pet only about a year ago? Could it be that the mongrel crashing the party was in fact Lord Mink's pet and that this unexpected and unbelievable disturbance had in fact been orchestrated in order to make this year's Jupiter Mass party even more unforgettable than last year's? Surely even Lord Mink's renowned extraordinariness would not stretch that far?

Raoul Am, on the other hand, was not as surprised as those completely ignorant to Iason's deviant ways, having known the other blonde throughout almost his entire life and thus knowing what really hid under that impeccable and ever-calm façade. _If Iason thinks he can get away with this on my watch, he is sorely mistaken!_

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 _What in hell's bells' name was that?!_ From all the possible outcomes, this had been the least expected for the mongrel who had hoped his bold and rude actions would finally succeed in disturbing Iason Mink's imperturbable peace of mind. _I kiss him and stick my tongue halfway down his throat in front of all these dandy tight-asses and he just decides to call off the entire freakin' party?! What's UP with this guy's obsession with me already?!_

"I was hoping you would show sooner rather than later, Riki. I can understand that these celebrations are, unfortunately, a necessary evil for one of my standing. However I get the impression that they become duller and duller every year", the dazzlingly beautiful host spoke, apparently not noticing that one of his guests – Raoul Am – had not yet left the party and was carefully making his way towards the stage, looking as if he was about to give Iason one hell of a lecture.

While Riki was trying to figure out how to speak again, he noticed that Iason was dressed rather vibrantly that evening. And damn those leggings looked _smoking hot_ on him, despite his cool, snotty elite exterior. "Store ran outta white, huh? Good, you kinda look like you _could_ get some emotion on that pretty princess face of yours now that you're actually wearing some fucking colour. So what's up with calling off this party, huh? Isn't meeting with those over-dressed snobs supposed to be _the_ most important thing on your agenda or something?" Seeing how both his friend and that miserable, rotten pet were straight-out ignoring him, Raoul decided to wait until another time to give Iason his well-deserved lecture. Head-shakingly, he also left the penthouse, wondering whether this meant that Iason was going to start up all the craziness with this mongrel once again. _Good Jupiter, Iason, I thought you were smarter than that! You ought to be!_

"Indeed it ought to be. Although apparently what I am supposed to do and what I actually do are – in my case – often completely contradictory matters. Especially when it comes to yourself, Riki, as I am sure you know by now. You see, I was actually hoping you would come and end this entire boring farcical affair and lighten my mood. After al this time of year is supposed to be a celebration, is it not? And I daresay you would make for a very refreshingly interesting after-party, my dear Riki", Iason said as he approached Riki once again, who almost fell backwards down the stage as the towering blonde's sudden approach caused him to step back.

 _Shit! Again I played right into his fucking game! Can nothing ever surprise or even slightly disturb this motherfucker?!_ "Dammit, Iason, I can't accept this and you know it!", Riki exclaimed as he took the silver-wrapped box – which had up to that point been safely hidden inside his inner jacket pocket – and attempted to give it back. But his former Master refused to take it back for some reason or other. "Shit, Iason! I don't have anything to offer you!"

All of a sudden it was as if a sparkling ember had come to life in Iason's piercing glacier eyes as he approached the still back-stepping Riki in a determinant, predatory stride. "How about what you offered me just now? You wouldn't happen to have any more where that came from, would you, my _pet_?" That word again! That hated word that he had been having nightmares about even during his eight months of freedom. Or were they more like wet dreams? It was hard to tell at times.

"Shit, this is low, Iason, even for you! Giving somebody a gift is supposed to make them happy, not give them tons of bullcrap they really ain't waitin' for!", the black-haired prey said, as he mustered up his courage and faced the approaching lion head on without flinching rather than backing away from it, as any rational creature would undoubtedly do.

"I do believe you have not fully comprehended the nature or extent of my gift to you, Riki. I know a mere object such as this is of no use whatsoever to you", the blonde near-deity responded as he finally took the box Riki had been trying to return to him and opened it, revealing the ring inside. "Unless you consider the ability to open every door in all of Tanagura – except for Jupiter Tower doors seeing as how they require an accompanying retina scan – to be a gift, which I know you do not." Riki looked up in utter confusion as Iason took his smaller, dark-skinned hand and placed his own sapphire Master ring back into it. "I don't get it. So it's not about the actual ring but… what, the meaning behind it? You know I don't like it one bit that you consider me to be your property, your _thing_ to do with as you please!"

"I am aware of that, Riki. However it has only been recently revealed to me what it is exactly about this prospect that is so disturbing to you. It is because it is a reminder of how we are not equals, is it not? That has always been what has bothered you ever since the day you met me."

 _Crap, I guess there's no denying that. Damn that bastard!_ "You really _have_ to rub it in my face every god damn time you see me, don't ya?", Riki responded with an angry scowl on his dark-skinned, attractive face. _What devious scheme is that devil up to this time?_

"I believe you might have slightly misunderstood my intentions towards you, Riki. You see I don't generally spend so much time, effort and concern on people I consider to be my inferiors", the beautiful Elite spoke while slowly but surely continuing to drive his mongrel guest into a corner. "Regardless of what laws and social conventions exist in Tanagura and Midas, you are apparently determined to fall outside of all of them. Therefore if there is one person – or should I say human being - who I could _not_ consider to be my inferior, it would be you. And even if you were in theory, you do not exactly act that part in practice so it makes hardly any difference."

Riki's eyes momentarily widened as understanding dawned on him. _So what? He actually likes me because I've resisted him all this time? He doesn't truly want me to be submissive like some lame-ass Pet?_ "What in fuck's name is the meaning of this! How about you just stop messing with my head already and spit out whatever it is that's on your mind, Mink!"

"You wish to be my equal and I have to say in truth I do not very much object to that. However unfortunately the system this society runs on does not allow for any official arrangement of that nature. But as I have just pointed out, there can often be a very big difference between theory and practice." Now that his prey was finally backed against a wall, the lion firmly yet gently took him by the chin and turned his face upwards, as if entranced by the black depths of those exotic eyes. The only thing keeping Riki from tearing his eyes away from that interrogative, invading blue gaze was his mongrel pride and his determination not to show this man any weakness.

"What the fuck are you on about? You just want to leave me the fuck alone, huh? Is that what you're saying? You want this whole thing to finally be over? Well that's fine by me!", Riki shouted in a heated voice, but somewhere deep down even he knew he did not actually mean it. Truth be told, Iason Mink's _otherness_ and dominating nature fascinated him just as much as the other way around.

"Oh, it is quite the opposite, Riki. Make no mistake, I do not intend – not in a million years – to cease the challenging endeavour of making you mine in _every_ sense of the word. However I believe a momentarily truce between us might not be such a bad thing. After all, my motivations are not based on enmity", Iason said as he was sliding his long, elegant fingers through Riki's black messy hair. Riki slightly pulled his head away, supposedly in an effort to make him stop but Iason could tell the effect it was having on him was not an unpleasant one. "It's not? Then what the fuck _is_ it based on?!" Riki swallowed nervously, his mind did not like where this was going but as usual his treacherous body definitely did.

"Curiosity. You are a creature that's very different from anything Tanagura or even Midas allows for, almost like a living remnant of a long-forgotten democratic past of ideals such as freedom and equality." For a moment Riki could have sworn he detected a flicker of sorrow and regret in those perfect, artificial blue eyes. Maybe there _was_ an actual man behind that seemingly emotionless mask after all. "Perhaps curiosity grew into something more, or perhaps you simply pose more questions than you answer. I am sure I will never be able to solve the mystery that is you, Riki, that _is_ the attraction I suppose. Something tells me that attraction is mutual. Now don't try to deny it, my dear Pet, there really is very little point in that", the blonde continued knowingly while now caressing the mongrel's face. Yet not in his usual possessive manner, somehow something about the touch was different, warmer.

"When you say truce, what exactly do you mean? You mean to say that you let me go as a temporary measure or something? What, to prevent me from becoming insane because of imprisonment and your cruel punishments?" _I need to get the hell away from here!_ The gentler touch scared him even more than Iason's usual brutal manner did, it called to that part of Riki that really didn't mind this kind of attention from his former Master and tormentor.

"Indeed your so-called freedom is a temporary thing. There is simply no other way for me to make sure you don't meet an unfortunate end in a gutter somewhere. Not to mention finding you when I am in need of you in an uncontrolled environment like Area 9 also poses a lot of practical problems. But no, that is not what I meant by a truce. Your wish to be my equal makes me wonder… what exactly is it you would plan on doing if you - momentarily - were?"

Riki was at a complete loss of words. He managed to pull his body away from Iason's alluring aura, prying fingers and hypnotically seductive gaze. "What's the point of thinking about that? It ain't gonna happen, I know that. What, you want me to pretend? Like you would even be _able_ to pretend you were something other than what you are! Shit, Iason, you're wasting your time with me!"

"It is _my_ time to waste and I will not have anyone tell me not to. I have a very strong interest in you and I am certain that interest will not decrease as time progresses. I am not entirely sure what it is that has brought this on, but it matters not. And I do not care what anyone else thinks, it is none of their business either way. Now don't tell me you _do_ care for such things as gossip and public disapproval?" To Riki's surprise Iason's body language – though subtle still – made it apparent that he too was fed-up with Elitist society and their discriminating, meddling ways.

"Fuck, of course I don't! I'm a free man and I don't give a damn shit about what anybody thinks cause they only think bad things about me anyways! Shit, I don't get you! First you kidnap me, you lock me up and you punish me simply for being what I am! And now you tell me you _like_ me the way I am and that you wish for us to be equals?" The mongrel confusedly stepped further away from his elegant host and turned his back on him for good measure, not liking the way those prying eyes made him feel as if the blonde could read every thought in his head even before he knew he had been thinking it. However that just left his back wide open to his potential attacker, leading the fair-haired predator to silently approach him. Riki was caught completely unawares when those strong, robotic arms slipped around his waist and pulled him tight against the blonde's sculpted chest. A few seconds later Riki felt those silky-soft lips applying their magical, seductive talents to his sensitive throat. The pleasing attack was followed by a low, erotic whisper: "I promise you it will be worth your while, my darling Riki."

The longing to give in - just for this once - was very strong, especially after nearly a year of fasting. _Oh to hell with it! What harm could it do to lead him on for a short while?_ "OK", Riki said with a voice less steady than he would've wanted, while pulling away from the assault to turn around and face the object of both his fearful hatred and his fascinated obsession. "OK, let's say I agree. How would this temporarily equality thing go down?"

Iason responded with a sensuous yet devious smile. "I'm so glad you asked, Riki", he said as he slowly started undoing his upper tunic while walking in the direction of the master bedroom.

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Riki couldn't help following the shimmer of that golden hair into the bedroom, as if it were a siren's call of some sort, similar to how most Midas citizens couldn't resist the pull of a casino's neon lights. He was surprised to notice that even the Master's private bedroom had not been spared during the decorative orchestrations, although the decorations were definitely more modest in here than they had been in the main hall where the party had taken place. Riki spotted an unknown branch with some kind of white berries, hanging above the headboard of the bed. In any other circumstance Riki would've questioned what the fuck that was, curiosity being a personality trait that did not belong solely to Iason Mink. But in this particular situation he had a more pressing question. "What the hell are you doing?" _When am I going to learn to expect the unexpected where this motherfucker is concerned?_

"My, my, Riki, you do pick your moments to ask completely useless questions. As is most evident, I am undressing." It was as if the Elite was using the opportunity to stress the mongrel's supposed stupidity. _He just can't help himself, can he?_

"Yeah, I know that, you dumb-ass! But _why_ are you undressing?!", the mongrel insisted. However unusual the act of an Elite undressing himself was, especially in the presence of anyone who was not his personal Furniture, to Riki it was not that unusual to see Iason take off his clothes in his presence. Although it had taken several years for him to reach the point where he felt the need to take his sexual encounters with the mongrel so far outside of the normal comfort-zone of an Elite of his standing.

What _was_ unusual in this instance however, was the order of things: Iason always undressed Riki first and only ever took of his clothes right before he was to have his way with him. And then usually he didn't even take off all of them. Not to mention he had always been very straight-forward and practical about it, he had never ever made a show out of it, such a thing would be unbefitting one of his station. For the blonde to openly expose himself in such a way was simply unthinkable. It was a border that could never be crossed, even by a sexual deviant like Iason. Yet he just had, with his usual sensual confidence and apparently without even a second thought.

Riki watched in amazement, at first too surprised to comment at all, as one by one his Elite's pieces of clothing were teasingly slowly removed from his perfectly divine, pale body and dropped where he stood. Despite never having made any display of the sort, Iason was good at it and Riki became unable to pry his eyes away from the sight.

As it became apparent that Iason was not planning on making any further moves on Riki other than posing at a relative distance, completely naked now, Riki swallowed thickly and managed to regain his ability to speak. "Ehm… that's something else… not that I haven't seen it before but… well I'm usually kinda occupied when I do." There was no sign of feeling degraded at all on the Elite's face, then again even if he felt degraded there would probably be no way to tell from his facial expressions. "So… are you just gonna stand there like that? Not that I mind…" _Hell no, I don't mind! He may be the world's biggest asshole but he sure is a looker, especially when he's all naked and seductive like that._

"I suppose that would depend on what you do, wouldn't it? Don't tell me you're feeling too intimidated to make a move on me. But I suppose you have a way of becoming shy in the least unexpected moments." That hit a nerve.

"I ain't shy, OK! _You_ 're the one in the nude here! And why the hell would I be shy, huh? There ain't nothing we haven't done before", yet the mongrel couldn't help but feel unsure of what he was to expect in the current situation and it was showing on his face and in his manner. And the approach of the gloriously naked, blonde god with a rather wicked smile on his face wasn't helping matters.

"Is that so? I can think of quite a few things we haven't done before, can't you?" Riki tried his best not to flinch when Iason stopped at about 5 inches from his face and playfully pushed his strong, naked leg in between Riki's fully clothed legs, causing the smaller man to fall backwards unto the bed. "Such a shame really, wouldn't you agree, Riki?" _How in fuck's name can he be even more intimidating when I'm the one actually wearing clothes here!_

After a few confused seconds Riki quickly recovered and jumped up from the bed, not allowing Iason to physically get the upper-hand and desperately trying to suppress his already visible reaction to the proximity of Iason's naked body. "And you're just full of surprise, aren't ya? So which fucked-up sexual acts did you cook up this time, huh? And why do they require me to be fully clothed?! And what the fuck's got any of this to do with your lame-ass Christime present?!", the questions continuously flowed out of Riki's mouth, almost as if he was having a panic-attack.

Riki tried to pull away but was unable to do so when the back of his legs hit the foot of the bed again, as Iason went to stand close to him again and slid his hands inside the front of Riki's jeans. _Oh God!_ "Ssshhh, there is no need to worry, my sweet Riki. Whatever happens next is entirely up to you."

"Wait… what?!", Riki stared up at Iason in complete disbelief, as if trying to read from his face whether or not this was some kind of ruse. "What the fuck's that supposed to mean? Since when is _any_ of this my choice?!"

"You chose to follow me that day, did you not? And you chose to convince me to go to that love hotel with you. Therefore you are the one who took the first initiative in our relationship, not I." Riki watched him like a hawk as Iason passed right next to him – Riki could even feel his immense body-heat through his clothes – and displayed himself on the bed, much like an ancient Roman Emperor. "Though of course I am most _pleased_ that you did", the Elite added with a sexy smile, moving up one of his legs in a way that left nothing up to the imagination.

"Wrong! _You_ are the one who just had to catch me stealing that day and comment on it! And don't tell me it's the responsibility of a Blondie to catch and reprimand mongrel thieves in Midas!", Riki objected while having a very hard time – literally - not to shed his own clothes and jump into the bed as well.

"Do you really wish to have this discussion now, Riki? I suppose the both of us took the initiative at that point, leading to my assumption that you are not incapable at all of leading when it comes to sexual pursuits. Am I wrong in assuming so?", the pale, beautiful deity asked while slightly raising one of his golden eyebrows, an act which showed an unusual amount of emotion for an Elite, especially one with a façade as icy as Iason Mink's.

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Slowly but surely realisation dawned on Riki's face as he studied Iason's strong yet elegant figure while contemplating his most unusual behaviour. _No bloody way in hell!_ "Who the fuck are you and what have you done to Iason Mink?", Riki whispered in awe not just of the perfect body displayed before him but also in awe of what he thought Iason was suggesting. The mongrel approached the side of the bed as if in a surreal trance and uncertainly reached out his smaller, dark hand to touch a strain of the blonde hair that sparkled like sunlight.

"To be honest it never really occurred to me that you might wish for a sense of freedom and … equality… in our relationship. Then again you _are_ a mongrel from Ceres, I suppose I could've predicted it to some extent. Yet mongrels who sell themselves don't usually have such illusions about life in Tanagura, your former gang member Kirie for example."

"Dammit, I never wanted "life in Tanagura", OK! I followed a _person_ , not a bloody lifestyle, and definitely not a fucked-up kind like that! And I didn't _sell_ myself to you, I was trying to pay back a _debt_ , so I wasn't expecting anything more from you!" What would it take to make that white-assed moron understand? _Shit I never wanted any of this! Or… maybe some of it._

"Well, I suppose that explains our little misunderstanding, not that it matters much now what your motivations were at the time. I accepted, after a short period of evaluation …" Iason was truly satisfied that his talk with Katze earlier that day had finally provided him with some much-needed insights into his mongrel's way of thinking. Riki provided a riddle he was yearning to unravel yet that was something he could not do on his own, foreign as the ways of mongrels were to the Elite of Tanagura.

"You had Katze spy on me back then, didn't you?! That's why I got into the Black Market in the first place! What the hell for, huh?! You'd already seen all I had to offer!" The feeling of being tricked and betrayed rushed back into his veins at full force, only now Katze's betrayal was revealed to have been orchestrated to a far greater extent than Riki had imagined. _It had been his intention to sell me out to Iason right from the start! He never truly wanted to offer me a place in the Black Market, he never really respected me._

"You offer far more than merely what is visible, my Riki. I do not want to own just your body, but also your mind and soul. But that last bit is proving to be rather tricky I must say. According to Katze it's a part that can only be obtained from someone who is willing, physically as well as mentally. And apparently in your case it requires to give you a sense of equality, which would enable you to keep your precious mongrel honour intact."

"I don't understand, why are you so concerned about how _I_ feel all of a sudden, huh? It never bloody mattered before!" Riki was relieved when he felt the burning anger take control of his mind and body again, momentarily numbing the strong desire and the small flutter of hope that rose from his very soul. Anger he was used to, anger he could handle, anger did not make him weak.

"Of course it mattered. If I want to see a good piece of acting I'll go to the theatre, such performances do not interest me in a sexual fashion. But your reactions were always genuine, the powerful passion so openly visible on your face, your body exposed to my eyes like an open book." Those very arctic, piercing eyes were studying Riki's body intently as his speech went on. "If you truly felt no attraction to me at all, I very much doubt I could have brought you to your height that quickly during our first meeting. Not to mention all the times following that one, even without the stimulation of the Pet ring or aphrodisiacs. Yet those were necessary, seeing as how your unwilling, proud mind always posed such a hindrance. But then again I like a challenge, very much so even", the attractive Elite concluded with a predatory grin, as if daring Riki to object.

"Then why'd you send me off, huh? What, to give me false hope? To see how I'd react, to see whether you'd finally succeeded in taming me and turning me into a weak-minded slave?!" Fuelled by his anger, Riki grabbed a random crystal vase from the night-stand and threw it across the room, needing something not just to vent his anger but to vent his frustration and the growing fear within his guts as well. _He never wanted to truly release me. He's just toying with me._

But no matter his anger and other strong, unwanted emotions rising up inside of him, Riki was finally getting some much-needed answers. Answers to questions he'd been asking himself over the last eight months, unable to forget the time he had spent with Iason Mink. What motivated the Elite to do such an uncharacteristic thing as taking a mongrel for a Pet? And what eventually motivated him to release said mongrel, if not boredom or fear of his peers' disapproval? Iason Mink was as much a mystery to Riki, as the other way around.

"As I have already explained, I do not just desire your body. I could not risk that beautiful, fiery spirit of yours just for the sake of keeping you in my direct vicinity. So I decided to return to you – at least temporarily – your sense of freedom, seeing as how apparently you need it like you do air to breathe." The mongrel's breathing was becoming more and more laboured as time went on, not just because of the anger and confusion he was feeling but also because the blonde on the bed had started absent-mindedly caressing his own gorgeous body, as if to entice Riki to join him in the act.

"Is that your Elitist half-assed way of saying you actually care for me, as a person?" Riki simply couldn't believe it, what if it was another one of Iason's schemes, a trap meant to do nothing further than to ensnare him in his golden nets once again. "Then prove it. Just the fact that you gave me some space doesn't prove anything. You could've just as easily sent me off for a while in order to quiet things down a bit after my near-escape and Daryl's collaboration."

"Very true. It is in fact one of the reasons I decided to invite you here this evening." Confusion again appeared on the young mongrel's dark features. "I would say my body is a small price to pay for your soul, but I fear it is all Tanagura would allow me to offer."

 _What the hell is he saying?! What does he mean, his body? We've already engaged in sex, on more occasions than anybody could count!_

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"Contrary to what you and others might believe, as an Elite I am not free to do as I please. It is crucial for one in my position to maintain my public face and to follow all the laws of Tanagura to the letter. If not I daresay my very existence would be endangered, as Jupiter shows no mercy for those that stray from the path she has laid out, not even for her own children. Fortunately for me, there is no law that actually forbids me to have intercourse, as long as it is done in private and it is to all the world as if it never even happened. You must understand, Riki, no matter what I personally feel for you, I cannot offer you anything other than my body in the confines of the bedroom. Do you accept?" For a moment Riki could have sworn he saw something akin to pleading along with intense longing in those ocean-blue, deep orbs. But no, it must have been his imagination.

Despite never having really thought about Iason's limits in freedom, due to how much more limited the Pets and Furniture of Tanagura appeared in comparison, Riki had to admit that he had a point. He couldn't imagine Jupiter approving of her very own children and instruments of her power disobeying her and thwarting her will. Only now it occurred to him what a lonely existence that had to be, with only a bunch of apathetic, ego-centric Elite and an unfeeling, inhuman supercomputer for company. Not counting Pets and Furniture of course, seeing as how the Elite did not even considers those to be interlocutors to begin with. The question of course was: is Iason even capable of feeling loneliness, of feeling anything at all? Because he surely never had given Riki any reason to assume that something more than mere lust and the need to dominate and humiliate was causing him to pursue a mongrel to such an extent. Perhaps Riki ought to give him a chance, for curiosity's sake.

"What exactly am I accepting? You might wanna make your terms a bit more specific…", Riki spoke hesitantly, still unsure what to expect and if he could really trust the Blondie to keep his word, whatever it was about. _Dear God what am I getting myself into this time? But it can't hurt to at least listen to his offer, right?_

"Why yes I suppose so, if not people might take advantage and purposely misinterpret my preposition to entail the rest of my life rather than one night", the Elite responded with a down-right mischievous chuckle that made Riki look up as if unsure whether the sound had really come from Iason. "I offer you this entire body, to do with as you please, for the duration of this night, meaning until dawn. Without causing any permanent damage, of course. Though I must add that it is most unlikely that you would be able to permanently damage me, seeing as how I was built to be indestructible. Also I should inform you that I possess the ability to switch off certain parts of my nerve system at will, seeing as how it is mechanical. Such as my pain centre for instance, though I must say that I wouldn't be inclined to switch off any other nerve centres in your presence", the blonde spoke with his all-business voice and without showing a single emotion on his face, although Riki could detect a certain playfulness and sincerity in his eyes. But only because he was purposely focussing on those to avoid looking at any other parts of the marvellous piece of bio-engineered art that was Iason Mink's body. It was an interesting, worth-while discovery, yet Riki could not trust that Iason did not possess the ability to convey emotions that he did not truly feel through those enchanting, sparkling sapphires.

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 _Ending theme_ : Macy Gray – This Christmas (Hang All the Mistletoe)

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To Be Continued …


	6. Under the Mistletoe Part 2

**Chapter 5: Under the Mistletoe: Part 2:**

Author's notes:

Pooh! Finally, I've managed to finish this fic!:D This last chapter turns out to be a lot longer than other chapters, despite me splitting it up into two parts… oh well that's more fun for everyone I suppose ;) I hope I'm not disappointing anybody here, cause from what I've read in the reviews some people have pretty high expectations… so I hope I've managed to pretty much satisfy everybody with this :) I've no experience writing actual love scenes, so I do hope this isn't too cliché or hilariously ridiculous or something :P Do let me know if something's bothering you about it and I'll try my best to improve :)

This is the last chapter but there's a very short lyrics epilogue coming after this, which I will post on here shortly, it's already been written but I just gotta read over it once more ;) I hope you'll all enjoy this final chapter and the epilogue and please write me a review to tell me what you think!:D

 **Warning:** I don't think it can actually get any more explicit than this so… no kids allowed!;)

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 _Opening theme:_ Destiny's Child – 8 Days of Christmas (My Baby Gave To Me)

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 _Is he fucking shitting me?! There's just no way, no way at all! Why on Amoy would he make me an offer like that? Me, a lowly unworthy mongrel?!_

"Y… you're not… serious… right? I mean… you don't even like it when your _Furniture_ touches you out of necessity! Even that goddamn bastard Raoul never touched you, not even to shake your hand or something!" _What's gotten into this guy?_ Despite Riki's burning desire that began to manifest itself to an even greater extent, he had no interest or wish to engage in any kind of sexual touch with someone who did not want to be touched. The pretty mongrel had been the subject of many unwanted attentions and even down-right rape while growing up in the slums, and therefore refused to subject anyone else – even his worst enemies – to such a treatment on principle. He had to admit that he'd choose Iason's unwanted yet very pleasing ministrations over a repeat of those assaults anytime.

"You are right in assuming that I do not appreciate people touching me. It is not merely something put in place in the Tanaguran social system, but it is also something I genuinely despise. However the first time I met you, I noticed something very peculiar: I do not mind it when _you_ touch me. Not even when you so impudently grabbed my arm in the middle of the street. And I certainly never minded it when you grabbed unto my hair in the throes of passion, moreover I have found that I rather enjoy it when you do", the blonde admitted, while continuing to please himself but without actually touching any of his sexual parts. Riki was amazed at his self-control, not even his breathing had become more apparent. The only tell-tale sign that the blonde was enjoying himself were the dilation of his pupils and the smoking look he kept on throwing Riki's way, as if hot blue flames were burning inside of those irises. The Blondie was simply irresistible when he was openly displaying himself in such an erotic way.

Riki had to admit it to himself, this _was_ what he had secretly been hoping for when he decided to follow Iason on the day he had met him in Midas. It felt like a lifetime ago now, yet the fire quickened in his blood as if it had been the day before. As if the Blondie had never put it out by humiliating him and teaching him his place at the Minos love hotel. Arguably, the Blondie had effectively made use of the mongrel's physical attraction to him to torment him. However that very act had also removed or at least significantly dampened any mental attraction the mongrel had initially harboured for him, despite his bold words and brass actions during their first meeting. Said mongrel now felt that attraction return to both his mind and body tenfold, as if for each day without the blonde's presence more and more pressure had been added and now all of that pressure nearly caused him to burst. Riki had not even realised to what an extent he had been secretly dreaming, unknowingly hoping for an opportunity like this. Moreover the stunning blonde actually _wanted_ him to, and quite clearly not just in order to be able to conquer Riki's soul as well as his body.

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For the one hundredth time that night, Riki was entirely speechless. He just couldn't believe it, somehow that impossible wish – up to that point even unknown to himself - had been heard and answered by the object of his secret desire. Working as a Black Market courier, Riki had quickly caught on the value of swiftly taking an opportunity when it presented itself. That instinct was probably the only reason why he was able to react to Iason's unexpected proposal at all.

"All… all right. Hell yeah I agree! Never thought I'd ever actually agree to anything you said but… well, when you put it like that… who the fuck could refuse? What about my supposed soul, you get that for the duration of the night as well, huh? And how do I go about demonstrating your possession of my black heart?" It felt as if the weight of the world had been on his shoulders that whole time and had now finally fallen off of them. He felt light as a feather and as young, desirable and confident as he ever did during the years growing up and riding with Bison. The good old days when no worry or care in the world could touch them, when their idealistic dreams were still very much alive, not yet extinguished by the daily hopeless routines and misfortunes of the hard life in the slums.

"I believe your willing participation will do in that respect, seeing as how I never forced you to accept my offer. Yet you did accept it, even while knowing I wanted you to, how fascinating", Iason responded with a daring, rather naughty smile while moving over to make room for Riki on the white, silk sheets of the luxurious bed.

Riki wasted no time and got right to taking off his shirt, closely followed by his boots and belt. And for the first time ever, he did not mind the glare of those icy blue, burning eyes one bit. To his great surprise he even realised he was seriously turned on by it, the way those gorgeous eyes would caress the already exposed parts of his body caused a delicious shiver to run down his spine and further kindle the excitement in his lower regions. _Oh God, I can't believe this is happening. Shit, if this is a dream I hope I don't wake up for a while. Some Christime present this is, hell I wouldn't mind this every day of the year!_

Iason was most pleased when he noted the sudden and complete transformation his mongrel had undergone in seconds after realising the full extent of his present. That cocky, confident attitude and that seductive swagger that had drawn Iason to the mongrel to begin with had returned in full. Probably even more enhanced through the years of forced submission as a Pet and the more recent months of sexual denial. Iason felt a strange and enticing shudder within the very core of his still-organic brain, at the very heart of his pleasure centre. After which he made a most peculiar realisation: the anticipation of being dominated – even in a mere sexual way and with his consent – by the wonderfully wild, feral creature in front of him made him shiver with a delight he had never even thought possible. A second later Iason contemplated how unusual a thing had just happened: his robotic body had actually, although just slightly, shivered despite him not having explicitly given that command to it.

Those dark, shimmering eyes remained focussed on the snowwhite, flawless skin of the gorgeous Elite body in front of him while undressing, a deep hunger and need to submit the divine creature in front of him surging up. Riki could not help but notice what appeared to be a brief shimmering of said artificial skin. Surely that couldn't be an error of some sort? After blinking he even wondered whether he had actually seen it at all. Now fully unclothed and with an already hard and pine-tree-straight manhood, he crawled unto the bed like a wolf about to pounce unto its prey. Never mind that his prey was a very dangerous and much more powerful lion.

As his mongrel approached, a down-right sexy and hungry look in his coal-black eyes, Iason felt a rising unease inside his mind like he had never felt before, not even while having intercourse with the mongrel. If he had truly wanted to fight off that feeling he probably could have, his mind being trained to remain in control of his artificial body at all times except during updates or interlinking with Jupiter, but at that moment he did not want to. So he just let it go, automatically switching off all restrictions and inhibitions installed in the software of his robotic body and turning down his strength to the extreme minimum, making himself no stronger than the ordinary human bending over him now.

Riki crawled on all fours until his body was right above Iason's: his legs surrounding Iason's, one arm secured around his remarkably narrow waist and the other hand moving towards his perfect face. "Hey, beautiful…", he whispered with his face close enough to Iason's to slightly move his lips against the other's, while threading his fingers through his sparkling golden hair and caressing the side of his perfectly chiselled face. "So I do get a greeting at some point, just not simultaneous to your moment of entry?", his handsome soon-to-be lover answered in an amused tone.

Riki laughed out loud and it was the most beautiful and pure sound that Iason had ever heard. "Oh, don't worry, gorgeous, my "moment of entry", as you so formally put it, will come very soon, no need to be so impatient", the bold mongrel responded with a wink and then started kissing the blonde Elite more deeply and in earnest, probing his tongue inside the other's mouth instead of the other way around, as it usually was. To Riki's amazement Iason responded to this insolent probing by welcomingly opening his mouth to allow for a better conquest. The former Pet felt a sense of deep satisfaction at this reversal of roles being added to his bourgeoning sexual excitement, as his lover's compliant behaviour only helped to fuel his passion further.

"May I point out that you unclothed yourself approximately 12,3 times faster than I did, which clearly shows that you, _gorgeous_ , are a lot more impatient than I am." This elicited yet another bellowing, genuinely human laugh from the man who was now kissing Iason's marble-looking yet endearingly soft neck in a most teasing manner, interchanging a gentle nibbling with a more earnest and slightly sharp biting.

"Shit, you actually _do_ have a sense of humour, don't ya? What else have you been hiding from me, huh?", the mongrel asked in a light-hearted tone that Iason – or anyone else for that matter - had not heard from him in a very long time.

"Have you got anything down there maybe, that I haven't noticed before?", he continued with a cheeky grin as he lowered his body while sliding his warm, slightly moist hands along Iason's sides. After which he abruptly pulled Iason's legs further apart and put his head in between them like a dog sniffling for a bone. "Why, what's that there at the back? I think I never noticed it cause there's this huge pillar in front of it.. but seriously, what's _hiding_ back there, huh?"

He couldn't help it, it was a combination of the sexual stimulus brought on by how his legs were suddenly pried open and the humorous stimulus caused by Riki's obscene sense of humour, and possibly also due to the carefree, naughty voice he was currently using.

All of a sudden Riki heard an unknown sound and started peering around as if expecting a cellphone to be ringing or a radio to have just started playing somewhere. He had never heard a sound quite like it before, it had been very brief and not particularly loud, yet Riki had managed to distinguish a rather high-pitched, jingling sort of tone that could have been musical if it had actually contained a melody or a rhythm, which it did not. Unable to find the source of the sudden mysterious sound and curious about it, Riki turned to Iason. "Did you just hear that too? I heard something weird, like a jingling of some sort…" Perhaps there was a radio somewhere else in the house, playing a Christime song or something? Yet it had sounded much, much closer. Riki got to the side of the bed and searched on and around the nightstand for the source of that sound. Truth be told it had really appealed to him on a remarkably deep level and he wanted to figure out what it was so he could hear it again.

"I believe that was me, Riki. I apologize, it has been almost seventy years since this last happened. To tell you the truth, I find it rather embarrassing." _How truly bizarre that this should happen now. Perhaps it is because I have switched off my inhibitions?_

"It surely didn't sound like a wind… wait, you don't even have a digestive system so that can't be it. So what the fuck could it be that's so embarrassing, huh?" The mongrel approached Iason again with a curious, I-need-to-know look twinkling in his black eyes.

"No, it was a VE707, a rather rare voicebox error that I used to get more often during my younger years." Iason's younger years. That could have been over a century ago for all Riki knew, for Elite did not age of course.

"An error? Seriously? I guess it sounds pretty when you sing a false tune as well then, cause that didn't sound like no error to me. So what kind of error was it then, one of your circuits overloaded or something?"

"Something of the sort, it is caused by a malfunction in one of the connections between my H and my E component, meaning my organic brain and my mechanical body."

"So what, it's like saying something out loud you only wanted to be thinking or something?" Riki had always been remarkably intelligent and quick-witted for a mongrel, therefore Iason hardly ever needed to offer any long, redundant explanations on the rare occasions that they actually conversed without it leading to an argument followed by punishment.

"Indeed, that is in fact a rather accurate comparison. However there are no actual words and thus no actual speech involved."

 _What could it be?_ "You say you got this more often during your childhood, or whatever Elite equivalent of it there is? And it's embarrassing? Could you give an example of another time you've had this?", Riki asked eagerly, his onyx eyes shining.

Iason did not understand why his mongrel was so interested in such a vocal error of no importance whatsoever. Was it because he had been desperate to find an imperfection in his former Master, and now at long last he had succeeded?

"Why are you even enquiring about this, Riki?"

"Cause I wanna try and get you to make it again. It sounds real nice." Riki got closer to Iason and studied his throat and chest, almost as if contemplating if he could get the sound again by pounding his chest or by pushing a hidden button somewhere.

"You wish for me to make an error again? What an unusual request that is, though I suppose I did say my body was yours to do with as you please. Very well then, the last time it occurred was when Raoul had somehow managed to trip over his own untied shoelaces. His locomotive functions were rather unstable, which was not particularly unusual as the both of us were only about five years old at the time." After hearing how that stuck-up, annoyingly bothersome bastard had done something so idiotic as a kid, Riki just burst out laughing. And what do you know, all of a sudden the jingling sound was there again! "There! You just did it again!" Riki could hardly contain his excitement and even went as far as to put his ear against Iason's throat, his entire being appearing to light up after having heard the mysterious sound again. Then it began to dawn on him, the mystery of VE707, a riddle even Iason himself did not know the answer to. "I know what it is!", Riki cheerfully exclaimed as if it was something truly marvellous. "I thought I had just explained to you what it is already?"

Riki jumped up and of the bed, unable to contain his enthusiasm for another second. "Gah, you're entirely mistaken! It ain't no fuckin' "error" at all!" _And it's proof that there really is a human being hidden in there, somewhere…_

"Then what do you propose it might be instead, Riki?", the blonde quizzically asked, yet truly curious to find out what alternative answer his mongrel thought he had found, and why it seemed to make him so happy all of a sudden. Riki had hardly ever shown any signs of happiness while under Iason's care, therefore the Elite felt pleasantly overwhelmed with the mongrel's currently light-hearted, near-jubilant mood.

"It's a _laugh_ , duhuh! Or a giggle maybe, and a damn pretty one at that. But totally weird, it kinda sounds like an electronic harpsichord playing or something", the enormously satisfied mongrel answered. Not only had he solved one of his Elite's mysteries, but he had also corrected Iason's own wrong interpretation of the nature of the sound. Riki knew something that the superintelligent, oh-so-smart Iason Mink did not know and had been able to tell him as much. _Score!_

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After that short yet immensely satisfying and revealing intermezzo, Riki decided to go back to business, seeing as how he only had until dawn to discover more of Iason's more intimate secrets. And he intended to use that opportunity to its utmost advantage. _You want a piece of me, Iason Mink? How about some of your own medicine?_

All of a sudden he literally jumped on top of Iason, capturing his waist between his legs and pressing down his hands into the mattress with his own, effectively using his own body to cage the Elite's. Iason did not fail to notice the stark yet aesthetically pleasing contrast between their skin tones: his own pale, flawless, velvety yet unbreakable skin next to Riki's darker, more natural-looking and more vulnerable skin. Iason always found Riki's clearly visible pores to be particularly interesting, seeing as how he himself had nothing of the kind: his artificial skin was entirely flawless and smooth, meaning there wasn't even a line on it except for his fingerprints.

"Gotcha! Now _you_ are _my_ prisoner for a change, baby. How'd'ya like that?", the wild creature who had just captured him asked with an uncharacteristically predatory grin. Yet nowhere nearly as scary as the more sinister kind that sometimes appeared on Iason's face while stalking Riki. The strikingly bright blue eyes looked up at Riki with a hint of surprise and as if trying to calculate what the dark one's next move was going to be. "So I am your _baby_ now, am I? Interesting choice of words." "Yeah, well, all Elite _are_ real babies when it comes down to it. You live your lives in total isolation here in Tanagura, safely locked away from the big scary world out there, and you hardly ever need to think or worry about your future cause Momma Jupiter provides for you. Crap, Iason, I bet you can't even wash your own clothes or comb your own hair." After which Riki proceeded by demonstratively combing Iason's long, golden tresses with his fingers. Yet Iason's strong hands remained still on exactly the place where Riki had left them. It was like a thereto uncharted territory had opened up to the mongrel, seeing as how Iason never lay still or long enough in bed for Riki to take his time and truly study him from up-close. But now he had all the time and permission that he needed to explore.

 _Might as well take advantage of the situation while I can._ Riki started mapping out the Elite's big, perfect body by caressing each and every inch of his skin, but avoiding too erotically charged areas. _Let's leave the best for last and make him suffer for a while._ After which he continued by kissing each and every inch of skin, to find out if it tasted as good as it smelled. It had a sterile, synthetic kind of smell yet it was pleasant because it had a sweet after-smell. "Do you use a lotion of some sort, or is that just natural?" Sometimes it was as if Riki had momentarily forgotten that hardly anything of an Elite's body was natural, and definitely not the parts available for his sensory and olfactory inspection.

"Why would someone with artificial skin use a lotion?" Iason knew the extent of his Pet's intellect by now and knew that he must be smart enough to realise at least that much, despite his lack of knowledge on mechanical Elite bodies. Therefore there had to be another reason why he asked the question, surely?

"Dunno, to make it smell nice for when his secret mongrel lover from the slums shows up?" Riki said with a bad-boy smile and slightly lifted up Iason's leg – which he would not have been able to do if Iason had not immediately done so himself the moment he saw Riki's intent. He then started teasingly kissing and licking Iason's inner thigh, all the way up and getting closer and closer towards his intimate parts, which by this point clearly showed the intensity of the blonde's excitement.

Iason could not stand the teasing, it made his excitement rise and rise until he thought he would not be able to hold it in anymore. Having no control over what was happening was causing him to behave in an uncharacteristically passionate and involved manner. When having sex with Riki on his own terms, he was able to contain his own reactions to a point where in Riki's eyes he appeared to be nearly aloof and distanced despite the intimacy of the acts themselves. Yet this situation was very, very different, as Iason noticed to his astonishment. As Riki was continuously kissing the crease where his leg and torso met, only to go on and start again at the bottom of his other leg, Iason actually threw his head back and softly yet breathlessly let out something that – had it been louder and not so brief – could count for a shriek. Riki naughtily looked up from what he was doing, which led to even more frustration from Iason of course. "Is something the matter, my sweet Iason?" In any other context this kind of pestering would have surely led to a very serious and unpleasant rebuke from his Master. Yet now he could, despite his need that was becoming greater by the minute, see the charm in Riki's teasingly slow conquest. Not to mention he had promised his mongrel to freedom to do with his body as he pleased, so there was no backing out of it now.

"What could possibly be wrong in a situation… where you are willingly and most expertly … pleasing me in bed and you are actually… allowing yourself to enjoy it?", Riki's divinely beautiful lover spoke in a series of short gasps as the other's tongue was approaching his intimate zone once again. Riki was rather amazed at hearing how apparently Iason could not see anything negative in a situation that left him - an impeccably perfect, pure and superhuman Blondie Elite who was at least partially still a virgin - entirely exposed to the unpredictable, dark desires of a wild, uncontrollable mongrel from Ceres.

"If you wanted me to enjoy it, perhaps you shouldn't have forced it upon me?", the mongrel responded, yet Iason could tell from the still-present humour and affection in his eyes that it wasn't meant to be a real reproach. However the blonde wasn't given the opportunity to respond in turn because at that moment the mongrel's moist, searching lips and tongue had found their way towards his genitals. As he felt his manhood being engulfed in the living heat of the mongrel's mouth, his passion swept through the circuits of his body like a whirlwind. His pale, strong hands gripped unto the sheets for dear life, ripping apart half the bed-linen in the process. His flawless, slim legs lifted higher off the bed and a soft yet clearly distinguishable, sexy moan fell from his artificial lips. Riki had never heard anything so desirable in his entire life and before he could even think about trying to hold back the floodwater of feelings, hormones and blood he came right on the spot without a single touch.

After he had come down from what must have been the highest peak of his entire life and had settled somewhat, he let out a frustrated cry. _Shit! Not again!_ Riki was just getting himself ready for a mocking comment or a witty retort following his embarrassment when he heard something quite different coming from the blonde.

"Ah… hah!… Riki… don't stop… please don't stop…", Iason pleaded breathlessly, unable because unwilling to suppress any of his moans. His blonde hair was entangled all around his body, Riki and the sheets and his magnificent, big yet refined body was bent back in a hopeless, submissive manner. The mongrel could scarcely believe his eyes and ears. _No fucking way!_ Because in his mind – and probably everybody else's in Tanagura – Iason Mink, the renowned and perfect First Blondie, would never lose control like that unless he allowed himself to. As his lover lay there wantonly moaning and begging Riki to continue his ministrations, the whole situation became even more surreal and unbelievable to him. For him, a worthless slum mongrel, to have this kind of effect on one of Jupiter's divinely perfect creations and main leaders of all Amoy, was simply a miracle. Something that shouldn't have existed, yet somehow it _did_.

Unable to tear his eyes away from the trembling, pleasantly moaning near-deity in front of him, Riki moved his head back between his partner's legs and resumed his sucking and licking work there while continuing to stare intently into his Blondie's eyes. "Haa!... Oh, Riki… my love… ah!... aaah… please…" To be honest Riki was feeling a bit distraught about all this, as all of a sudden his passionately crying lover wrapped one of his powerful, mechanical legs around the mongrel's ribcage. Riki felt a surge of fear as he realised that one of the Elite's limbs possessed enough strength to crush him to death in a matter of seconds. All this time he had wanted nothing more than to have Iason lose control during their love-making, yet now he realised that the practical ramifications of it could also be disastrous for him…

"D.. don't worry, my love… I have… decreased my strength… to the minimum…", Iason spoke in an attempt to get Riki to return his pretty, foul mouth to his nether regions. _My love. That's me, Iason Mink's love. Wow._ "Wait… is that even possible? But… why? Why would you do that?", Riki asked confusedly as he pulled his lips away from the hot, pulsating member.

"Do I _really_ have to explain why it would be an inconvenience to me if I accidentally ripped your head off while you were sucking me off?" The Elite had never, _ever_ used such crass, to-the-point language before but under the circumstances his impatience and powerful emotions got the better of his iron control.

"But you don't do that! You don't do anything by accident, you're always perfectly in control!" _It's what I hate about you._ "Only when I _choose_ to be. It is like feeling pain, I only feel it when I _want_ to because I can just as easily switch it off." _He switched off his self-control and his super-strength for me?_ "But _why_? Why would you choose to give up your control? I mean, you never have before, right?"

"Indeed I never wanted to thoroughly experience anything in a such a manner… not until I met you, Riki. You made me want to _feel_ in the true sense of the word. Could you stop asking questions now and _do_ what it is you do to me?" Having an impatient, uncontrolled Iason in front of him was almost too much for Riki to process and respond to. _Almost._ The mongrel did not have to be asked twice, as only seconds later his mouth was back on the blonde's hard peak. But despite having spent himself only minutes before, Riki soon decided that he had to stop or he would reach his climax too soon. The Elite was just so damn hot and erotic when he was responding like this!

Just after Riki had stopped, Iason grabbed his hand urgently, yet because of his lack of super-human strength it did not bruise the skin. Those bright-blue eyes, ablaze with excited longing now, looked at him in a lustful, almost pleading way. And could Riki detect a shiver of fear of what he was about to ask in there, or was that just his imagination? "Please… my Riki… I _need_ you…", Iason said through clenched teeth and while breathing more rapidly than Riki had ever observed him to. After which he brought Riki's hand towards the inner sanctum that was his most intimate of places and that had never been touched before, not by anyone.

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 _Oh my God! Is he seriously asking me to…?!_ Riki did not respond at first, unsure if this was all just a figment of his imagination or if his Blondie had really just asked him to pop his cherry. For an Elite to take one of their Pets was one thing, but to openly and physically submit themselves to the will of an inferior like that? Truly unheard of.

"Are you sure?" No matter how much Riki desired both to have the man in a sexual way and to have the Elite in a submissive position for a change, he would not do so if his partner wasn't truly willing. Life on the streets as an attractive teenager had often taught him exactly what it was like to be on the receiving end of molestation. Not to mention on a deep level he genuinely cared about Iason's well-being, only he did not realise to what an extreme extent this went just yet.

"Am I perhaps… hah… in the habit of asking… for things I don't want?", the other asked with a look of smouldering blue heat, while gently pulling Riki's body up and parting his own legs as if in invitation. "No but… well, you're not exactly sure what to expect from this, I take it?", Riki asked with what must have been a look of slight concern. "There's no need… to hold back, Riki… like I said earlier… you cannot possibly damage me." Riki wanted to say there were other kinds of damage than mere physical damage, but looking at Iason spread out for him on the bed, his long blonde hair tangled chaotically and sexily around his white, marble body, he really did not want to go into it. The discussion that is.

Riki moved up and on top of the Elite's attractive body and started nibbling his rosy already-hard nipples while simultaneously rubbing his hips against his abdomen. He noticed that Iason's body temperature was up, to the point where rubbing against him felt as relaxing as having a hot shower, but given the context also extremely stimulating. Riki moaned openly – no point in holding back if even his ice bunny didn't – and moved higher up in order to thoroughly French-kiss the blonde, exploring every dark, moist corner of his sweet mouth. In between kisses he mischievously whispered in his ear while licking along its shell: "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll make it good for you, I _want_ you to enjoy this just as much as I will. I want to make you scream your pleasure for all to hear… especially cause of how embarrassing it must be for you." After which Riki felt his pale lover shiver in his arms and moan softly, apparently he actually liked the prospect of that kind of embarrassment at the hands of his mongrel.

Riki could swear Iason actually tasted a little bit like honey, strange how he had never noticed it before. And the more he tasted it, the stronger was the need to taste more. By the time he was done exploring his lover's mouth, his need had suddenly become very urgent, almost as if he had taken aphrodisiacs but he hadn't. "Ah! Oh, holy shit…! Aargh!" _What in the hell was that?!_ Had he been fed something without his knowledge perhaps? Not that it really mattered now. Encouraged by the frizzy, hot sensation that was slowly but surely spreading across his entire body, Riki surged up and passionately kissed his lover again. Iason responded in kind with his usual possessiveness, as if he wanted to suck out and drink Riki's very soul. But it soon turned to an unusual surrendering gentleness as the blonde securely put his arms around the mongrel's dark-skinned back, holding on almost like a child to its protector. "That's it, honey… just hold unto me, you're safe with me…", the mongrel cooed in between the burning kisses and desperate gasps for air. He tasted like honey too, so it seemed like accurate sweet-talk.

The mongrel continued to kiss his currently submissive Blondie with ardent vigour and then started thrusting his hips and erection in between his lover's legs and against his surprisingly soft, pleasing buttocks. To Riki's slight surprise, he noticed that the insides of Iason's legs and also his bottom were slightly moist, which was strange considering his artificial body did not sweat at all. This fact only added to his strong, growing lust for the gorgeous man below him.

 _Dammit, I can't go on like this much longer!_ Riki suddenly jumped from the bed and started fumbling around inside and then in the vicinity of the nightstand. The sudden deprivation of satisfying sensations led Iason to emit something that sounded almost like a pained groan. "Riki… What… are you doing there?... Get back here!", Iason exclaimed, a touch of his usual authoritative voice returning as his impatience increased to an almost unbearable level. "Yeah, yeah, I know… What'd'ya think I'm doin'? You got any lube around here somewhere?"

"I don't need any. Get back here this instance!", Iason yelled as loud as he could given the fact that he'd also switched off his higher voice volume. "Please?", he then added as an afterthought, his anger dissipating and being replaced with new desire as he observed Riki kneeling stark-naked right next to the bed while continuing his search, his delectable bum up in the air.

"Sssshhhh ssh ssh… No need to get upset, sugar, it'll be worth the wait, I promise", the mongrel replied with a rather saucy wink as he continued searching through the contents of the nightstand.

"I told you I don't _need_ any, Riki, for the love of Jupiter, get back in here!" What would it take to get him to come back and finish what he'd started while keeping his mongrel's integrity intact? Not to mention it was the sort of sexual act that couldn't exactly be forced upon the actual instigator.

"But…", the mongrel began to argue, despite his own apparent need which bounced around in front of his body in a way that would've been comic in any other situation.

"I don't need any lubricant because I produce my own, there is no need for you to be quite so considerate, my love", Iason spoke in a calmer, more soothing tone, as he realised that the elongated wait was being caused by Riki's concern for his comfort. Confusion appeared anew on Riki's face, but then his earlier observation occurred to him. "So thàt's what that moist stuff was! What, you just… make that yourself? That's so weird! And kinda sexy…", he said with a lewd smile and started descending upon the blonde's defenceless, seductive body, that looked all the more tasty due to its passivity and lack of resistance.

As the mongrel slowly began to sneak up on him like a black wolf would a lamb, extremely pleasurable sensations of lustful anticipation and a deep, secret need to be brought closer to his Riki took over Iason's rationality. Yet at the same time said approach also gave rise to a very different – yet equally fascinating and mind-blowing – sensation that Iason had never really experienced during the many decades of his life as an Elite. Not having ever felt the cold, electrical-current-like emotion before, Iason did not even realise what emotion it actually was. But as soon as Riki detected it in his partner's eyes he could tell exactly what it was straight away. It surprised him and it only made his prey all the more appealing to the mongrel's darker, vengeance-bent side. For it's not everyday that a mere mongrel and Pet observes _fear_ in the eyes of his tyrannical Elite Master.

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 _Damn! He's actually afraid of me! But then why has he put himself in this position in the first place?_ A very strong part of Riki wanted to jump at the opportunity to give back some of the pain and fear he himself had felt at the hands of his former Master. Yet another part of him did not want to spoil this long-awaited moment by contaminating it with the hatred brought on by living under Tanaguran oppression. No, Iason had put his trust in him, had for the first time ever called him his _lover_ and was making a real effort to suppress his bred and conditioned domineering Elite nature in order to make Riki feel like an equal. Not to mention his love life had been the only part of his life with Iason where the cold-hearted Elite had slightly defrosted and had truly done his best to make Riki experience pleasure – on a level that had been unimaginable to him before - without there being any pain, humiliation or resentment added into the mix. Of course the mongrel had felt hurt and humiliated either way, but he had always known that had not been Iason's intention, not in that particular context. In fact the safety of the haven of Iason's bedroom had for a very long time been the only thing standing between the imprisoned mongrel and true despair.

"I think you forgot to turn your fear button …", Riki said as he installed himself between Iason's legs again and pulled him closer by his satiny hair to kiss him deeply and with a passionate hunger, almost as if he wanted to devour his blonde, icy angel on the spot.

"Oh? It _that_ what this strange sensation is?... Truth be told, there are no sensations or emotions that I would want to switch off when I am with you, my Riki. Not even pain or fear. After all, it would not be fair to you seeing as how you never _had_ that option", Iason spoke with devoted conviction, although his voice had become slightly shaky.

"Wanna hear a secret?", the mongrel said with a naughty look as if he was about to indulge Iason by telling him a well-kept, shocking secret. "Even if I'd had such a button I wouldn't've used it, not when we were together like that. Cause I _liked_ it… hell, I liked each and every single moment of it. So I'm gonna make _damn_ sure that you'll enjoy this to the maximum too!" It was not an easy confession to make for a mongrel with Riki's pride, but he felt the situation simply called for it. To let Iason know that he was not alone in this, that Riki felt the same way about him. Not that the mongrel would've gone as far as to actually admit it. That would take a lot more time and circumstances of a much extremer and more definite kind.

The Elite's fear did not abide completely, yet he felt significantly calmer after hearing such a confession from his mongrel, knowing how hard it must've been for him to admit even that much. Therefore he knew that Riki was being truly supportive and was not planning on taking advantage by using his current position of power to exact revenge. Not that Iason would have truly minded if he did, it would not have changed his longing to add this dynamic to their relationship. Elites could be extremely stubborn when they wanted something badly enough.

Riki started fiercely kissing Iason's lips again, a distinctly biological heat appearing to be transferred from his human, living body to the frosty Elite's mechanical one. At this the blonde felt the tingling in his loins being renewed and becoming even stronger, and it was as if the icy chill of fear only added to that excitement. "Shit, Iason, you're so hot like this…", the mongrel breathed lustfully as his skilful hands found their way to his lover's virginal entrance, his finger slipping inside easily due to the copious amount of sticky fluid that appeared to flow from the Elite's insides. Riki briefly wondered what in Jupiter's name that stuff actually _was_ but then decided that he would ask that question at a time when he wasn't otherwise preoccupied. It had to be synthetic, that was a fact. It had a sweet, almost earthy smell to it, not entirely unlike the sweet wafts of almonds and cherry blossoms that Riki was currently inhaling while burying his face inside of the abundance of soft, blonde hair. He'd always assumed it had been some kind of shampoo, but perhaps the smell was being emitted by the Elite's own body, a thought which definitely turned Riki on as well.

When Riki added a second finger inside of his Elite's warm, sticky core there was more resistance, almost as if the flexible inner walls around his fingers were rhythmically clenching and unclenching. Riki tried not to think about what that would feel like on a more sensitive and bigger body-part than a finger, for that would definitely drive him mad with desire and make him lose what little self-control he had left. After having pushed his second finger all the way inside as well, the mongrel noticed a change in the blonde's behaviour.

Iason's entire body was shaking, he pushed his hips slightly upwards and he hooked one of his legs, albeit gently, around Riki's neck almost as if in an automatism. Riki could not look away anymore after being exposed to the erotic sight of Iason Mink passionately grabbing unto the side and head of the bed while twisting and turning around as if dozens of slithering snakes were right beneath his purely white skin. Also his vocal behaviour came with a more strongly developed eagerness. "Aaaaah!... Yes!... Oh yes, my Riki… Touch me there again!... Please, touch me…" While listening to his blonde's sexy, encouraging voice, Riki felt the hot blood being pumped southwards even more and started pushing a third finger inside without much hesitation. At this Iason's moans became even more pronounced and significantly louder, it almost sounded as if he were coming already yet it went on and on and on … The Blondie now shook over his entire body and moved his limbs around even more feverishly, while throwing his head back in surrender and screaming non-stop in a way that betrayed he could do an inhumanly long time without air.

Riki knew – in theory – that he ought to be shocked and that this kind of behaviour from one with a normally iron self-control was very abnormal. Yet something about the shrill sounds, and especially about the sweet smell that was now continuously filling his nostrils, made Riki forget all about anything but what he was doing to the blonde. It made him all the more eager to take what he wanted without any more hesitation and to truly revel in it until he was entirely spent. He'd never thought it possible but somehow Iason's current bedroom antics were exciting Riki even more than usual. "Ahah… ah, Riki… I'm sorry… ah!", Iason tried to speak, his intoxicating blue eyes looking as if he was in pain due to all the pleasure that was surrounding and suffocating him. "Sssshhh… you've nothing to be sorry for, my love… I mean, not now, not here… Argh! Crap, Iason, I can't… I don't think I can hold back and go slow…", Riki responded soothingly but with his overboiling passion apparent in his voice.

The mongrel truly began to believe that both he and Iason had been fed a huge amount of a powerful aphrodisiac, but he had no idea when this could've happened and he did not understand at all why Iason would be effected by it, seeing as how Elite were supposed to be immune to all toxins and hallucinogens.

Riki rose up on all fours and covered Iason's body with his own, the constant movements of the heated body beneath him making the contact all the more enjoyable. He then buried his fingers inside his lover's splendid blonde locks and kissed him wildly, sliding his rock-hard phallus across Iason's soft inner thigh with a low, purring moan. "Ah, Iason… my love, I want you so bad!", he cried out, biting his lips so hard they actually bled. "Then have me, my Riki… Oh!... please, my beautiful Riki… I could only be yours… take what belongs to you… Aaahaa… only you, Riki… I want you to take me…", the usually stoic blonde responded heatedly, while hungrily kissing and licking the mongrel's face and throat, digging his fingernails deeply into Riki's shoulderblades and then feverishly scratching them down his back. It was as if the sharp pain just made it all the more sweeter to the mongrel, for right after it he screamed out his ecstasy and pushed the tip of his manhood against the Elite's hot, wet entrance.

"Yes! Yes, Riki! Ah… ah, please… Please!", Iason screamed at the current top of his lungs – which was still considerably loud – and locked his legs around Riki's waist, pushing his foot into the mongrel's left butt-cheek in order to glue him even more closely to his own hips. All this was simply too much for the human, who reached his breaking-point and took his long-awaited, golden prize in one hard, absolutely delicious push. It was exquisite beyond words. Riki screamed so loudly he was sure he would have no voice left in the morning, unable to hold in all of that heavenly bliss. He had expected it to be good, just not this unbelievably ecstatic. It felt as if Iason was hugging him and at the same time pulling him in. Seeing as how it was wet and warm it felt similar to getting a blow-job, only this was way tighter and it was accompanied by a strange, vibrating sensation. With the added stimuli provided by Iason's intense cries Riki knew he couldn't possibly go on like this for much longer. The way the blonde held unto Riki's body with all of his limbs yet could not make his body's violent shuddering stop. The feeling of his hot, agitated breathing in Riki's neck, accompanied by frenzied kisses and the delightfully tickling slide of that mass of marvellous golden hair against Riki's over-sensitive skin. The heady fragrance of the blonde nymph's sweet skin and hair. But all of that was nothing compared to the glimpses that Riki caught of the expression of utter and complete bliss on his lover's celestial visage: in those moments the mongrel knew for sure that he meant more to the Blondie than either one of them could admit or even possibly express to the fullest.

Just when Riki thought it could not possibly get any more exuberant, hot-and-cold sparks were added to the maelstrom of euphoric stimulations. Exhilarating pleasure overwhelmed Riki's senses as his body and spirit reached their highest point and was initially accompanied by a feeling of loss: he had wanted to last longer and suck up as much of those elated sensations as possible. But somehow Riki's body was held at said highest point for a very unusual amount of time, during which he could not even let out a single sound due the sheer intensity of his seemingly infinite peak. His very soul soared to such an extent that he momentarily lost all sense of self-awareness and was totally clueless as to where his body ended and his lover's body began. He could hear the rushing of his heated blood in every fibre of his body, followed by an enraptured, long scream of which he did not even know whether it was him, Iason or both of them who had thrown it towards the heavens. These overflowing, euphoric feelings continued to wash over Riki until the sensory overload became too much for his human body to sustain anymore, and he actually blacked out …

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"…iki? Riki, darling, are you all right?" It felt as if he had been ran over by a high-speed train, several times after each other. Slowly the blurry spots of light and dark that he could distinguish became more focused and he could make out the angelic, fair face of the one who had spoken to him. It took a while for him to even notice the uncharacteristic look of concern in Iason's sky-blue eyes. "Ia.. Iason?... Wh… what happened?", the mongrel asked while staring first at his lover and then at the rest of the bedroom in wonder, as if he was unsure as to where he was or how he got there. "You lost consciousness for approximately 4,3 minutes. I was worried, I… apologise, apparently I had forgotten all sense of rational control at the time."

"Seriously? You give a guy an orgasm that's so ecstatic it makes him black out and you apologise for losing control? Shi-it, Tanagura's trained you _good_ , Iason Mink", the dark-haired young man responded mirthfully, while removing a lock of stray, pretty hair from his blonde lover's face in a remarkably gentle way. He felt damn good, almost as if his body had been completely rejuvenated or some heavy burden had suddenly fallen off of him.

"I am glad you are all right, Riki", his Elite murmured softly, after which he elegantly moved closer to Riki and placed a gentle, deliciously sweet kiss on his lips. For some reason or other it made the mongrel blush. Not because the kiss was passionate or lustful but because there was simply nothing sexual about it. It was simply an expression of pure love and caring devotion.

"All right you call this? Damn, I'm better than all right, I've never felt so good in my life! It's like I've been reborn or something… Hey, what the hell did you slip me and when? Cause I don't remember eating or drinking anything since I got here... Not that I mind, whatever stuff that was you should've fed it to me before." Seeing Iason's look of surprise, he added: "Oh come on! Now don't tell me you gave me nothing, cause I was feeling butt-crazy from the very start! Not that I don't feel that way anyways with you around, but usually not that quickly."

"I am not aware of any aphrodisiacs being used on either one of us. But I had a similar thought during the first moments of our engagement, which should be impossible seeing as how I am immune to any and all sorts of stimulants of that kind, a precaution Jupiter has built into my very immune-system."

"Perhaps it was like… y'know… cause you're in love? I mean that kinda makes people feel fluffy like you've taken drugs or something, makes everything blurry, makes you feel stressful and makes your stomach upset, stuff like that…", Riki started musing, trying to answer some questions and not even aware of how he had just stated how Tanagura's famously apathic Head of the Syndicate really _was_ in love with him. "Perhaps, as long as I am still partially human Jupiter will not be able to change anything about how hormones effect me just like they do any other human being", the Elite added without even attempting to deny any of what Riki had just said. Including how he was head over heels for the mongrel, despite being theoretically unfeeling and the immense, unbridgeable divide between their respective social classes. "Yeah, but that don't explain what's been effecting _me_. I mean I've kinda felt that way around you since… well, more or less since the day I met you. So this ought to be nothing new to me, yet it was… definitely much more intense, really like I was drugged."

As Riki laid back down on the bed, crossing his arms under his head in a completely at-ease, nonchalant fashion, his blonde lover went to lay down next to him, aligning their bodies and pulling the mongrel into his embrace, his possessive nature glorifying in the fact that the mongrel's lean, tan body did not resist this move in the slightest. His gift to the mongrel had definitely brought on a lot of thereto unseen progress, it had been well worth his sacrifice. Not to mention he had enjoyed it to a far greater extent than he had ever thought it possible for one such as himself. While caressing the other's unruly, midnight locks Iason continued to ponder the mystery of how somehow whatever had been effecting his metabolism had also been effecting Riki's. Then something occurred to him…

"What is it? Did you think of an answer already?", asked Riki as he noticed that Iason had suddenly stirred slightly. In the aftermath of their intensive, blissful love-making his body was apparently still more responsive than usual, which gave Riki an actual clue as to what the coldly calculating Elite could be thinking. It was actually kind of scary.

"I believe we were effected by the exact same biological component. However despite you receiving a much smaller dose than I, the fact that I was used to the component and you were not made you react in such an extreme way", Iason began explaining, while still wearing that expression that suggested that he was equally dumb-founded at what had happened than Riki was. "What the fuck do you mean you were used to it? How could you be used to a drug if you're not even supposed to be effected by them?", the mongrel impatiently probed further, if the blonde knew something he should just be spitting it out, not talking in riddles!

"As I'm sure someone who grew up in the slums knows, the way in which a recipient reacts to a drug is not just determined by the dose of the drug but by how often that person uses a drug. As a user receives a dose of the same drug on a regular basis, the user will require a higher dose each time in order to achieve the same effect. I started taking a drug produced by my own endocrine glands probably since the first time I saw you, therefore now I would require much more of it to have the effect it did. Which explains why Jupiter does not wish for me to switch off the controls she has installed in my software, for those controls are rather essential to maintaining any kind of control over my body", Iason continued, trying to keep his explanation as essential as possible.

"Yeah yeah, that explains why _you_ were so effected, but what about _me_? You usually do one hell of a number on me, but not quite as extreme as _that_ …", Riki said while scrunching up his forehead in puzzlement, which according to Iason made him look very cute.

"I simply passed it on to you through my bodily fluids. You are probably not aware of this, but Elite bodies – as opposed to human bodies – have only one bodily fluid that mainly serves as both our blood and our lymph and is passed from a limited number of mechanical organs to the brain, seeing as how that still requires nourishment and oxygen like any other organic tissue. However on occasion that fluid also serves other purposes, seeing as how like many parts of our mechanical bodies it actually based on the same standard as android bodies, and those also include sex-androids, as I'm sure you've noticed, Riki. Sex-androids differ from other androids mainly because they require fluids to satisfactorily fulfil their functions, fluids created and passed around through the same basic system that is also used to pass the "blood" of the Elite around. Therefore if that one fluid at some point were to start transporting human hormones around and came into contact with another human being's bodily fluids, it could be passed on from an Elite body to a human body, in theory at least. I've never heard of an antecedent for this, but of course Elites do not generally make use of their fluids in a sexual manner", Iason finished his explanation, continuing to think along those lines and what it could mean for Riki, but choosing not to speak of any other effects that his bodily fluids might have had on Riki and that could also account for him feeling so chipper now despite their exhaustive activities throughout the night.

"So wait… you've overdosed on natural drugs in your blood cause you switched off your control buttons… and then you've passed a crazy dose of it on to me through your spit and… whatever _that_ stuff was… and that caused my super-high and following knock-out? That is some weird shit all right! Not that I really mind", the mongrel ended with a cheeky wink, stretching out on the bed like an energetic kitten bathing in the sun. "Or wait, this could not have a _bad_ effect on me or something, right?"

Iason could not stifle a small laugh at his mongrel's suddenly worried, rather wide-eyed expression. "There is no need to worry, my Riki, the filters cleaning my blood are a lot more effective than your liver and the ingredients of my blood are purer and less harmful. It is essentially all the same fluid, yet in different stages of aggregation depending on the required function. It is called ambrosia, a term the ancient Greeks used for the food of the gods. In fact, the belief was, that if a mere mortal were to somehow get a hold of it and consume it, that mortal would himself become a god as well", the divine-looking creature concluded with a subtle, mysteriously daring smile.

 _Ambrosia. Freaking unbelievable! Probably just a word Jupiter came up with in her whole God complex… or could there be some truth to Iason's story? Better not to think about what the stuff could do, as I've kinda taken in a lot of it …_

"Crap, you guys need a fancy, worshipper-inspiring term for everything down to your bloody spunk. Hell, I don't care if you're supposedly made out of rock from Mount Olympus, but I ain't gonna crawl in the dust for ya!"

"And I would not want you to, Riki. It is why I love you. Hard as it may be to believe for one of such a low social ranking of your own, it is rather nice not to be all the way up in the food chain for a change and to be treated like the equal of an inhabitant from Ceres", the usually stoic and distant Elite spoke with a note of cheerfulness his mongrel speaking to him in such a vulgar manner. "By the way, the name Ceres was actually coined by your forefathers and just happens to be a reference to the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain and fertility. Which I have to admit is rather accurate seeing as how Guardian is the only place on Amoy where real fertility still exists. Or is it meant to suggest that Ceres is the place from which humanity will grow once more?", Iason inquired with a rather interested tone. Ever since he had met Riki he had developed in interest in all things related to Ceres, and Riki was a much more suitable candidate for questioning in that respect than Katze was.

"I've no idea… I never even knew it was the name of some old goddess… Fertility, huh? Well, it ain't for lack of trying from where I'm sitting! Shit if you were fertile I'm pretty sure we'd just have made a whole lot of babies", Riki laughed, trying to imagine whether their kids would be snobby, pretty little princesses like Iason or naughty, ill-mannered little troublemakers like himself. "Not sure what to make of that grain though, we sure don't have any of that lying around in Ceres…" Then the mongrel fell completely silent as he all of a sudden realised something. _Did he just say… ? No, it can't be! It must've been my mind playing tricks._ "Did you just…?"

"Did I just what?", the Elite asked with a raised eyebrow, pretending he did not know _exactly_ what it was his mongrel was referring to. After all he had thrown it into the natural line of conversation on purpose just to see if Riki would notice and comment on it, and if so in what way.

"That you didn't want me to kiss your feet cause… well, you're the one who said it!" _If I misheard him or something this would sure be embarrassing as hell… Shit, of course I misheard him, I must have!_ Yet what if there was a small chance that maybe the unreachable, perfect object of his secret affections reciprocated those feelings?

"I have not the slightest idea of what it is you mean, Riki. Please speak more clearly." Would Riki dare to go into more detail and be more explicit? Could this be the long-awaited moment, in which Iason's beloved mongrel would finally become his in soul as well?

"Oh, never mind! I probably just imagined it anyways…", Riki yelled, his frustration and inner turmoil evident, after which he tried to stifle a giant yawn. This had been one hell of a marathon, even for Iason Mink's standards. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster that went along with it.

"You should try to get some sleep, my Riki, as I would not wish your health to suffer from our physically draining engagements. Not to worry, you still have a couple of hours before dawn", the Blondie spoke as he turned towards his most cherished possession, only to see that the mongrel had already fallen fast asleep and was now snoring softly and rather endearingly as he lay on the bed, naked and curled up like a stray cat. The blonde moved slightly closer on the bed, making sure not to disturb the sleeping wild and thorny rose.

In the mean time it had begun to snow again right outside the sanctuary of the lovers' bedroom. The biting cold, beautifully shimmering and perfectly symmetrical little stars mercilessly covered the entire windowsill in a matter of minutes, almost as if trying to erase the very life from it by adding layer upon layer of muffling, pristinely sterile white. The cold, perfectly symmetrical creature with the beautifully shimmering hair covered the defenceless, slumbering form of the mongrel in the bed with a pristinely white blanket. After which he leaned down to chastely kiss his dark, sweaty forehead and softly whispered: "But I do love you, my darling Riki, ever since the very first time I'd set eyes on you. And I always will. You are mine, now and forever, body and soul."

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 _Ending theme:_ Amazon Trance – White Christmas

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To Be Continued … By An Epilogue


	7. Epilogue: Ice Angel

**Epilogue: Ice Angel**

Author's notes:

So here it finally is, the last chapter for this short Christmas fic!:D Not much action in this chapter but I feel this is a necessary concluding kind of contemplation to this short fic, and I also felt that the lyrics of the song "Ice Angel" by Blutengel really suited that purpose (it's actually a Belgian band ;) ). I hope you've all enjoyed reading this fic and I'd like to thank all reviewers for their nice words :) But please do tell me if there's something in my writing that you feel could be improved on, and I'll be glad to do my best to make it so ;) Also any feedback will continue to be useful to me, as I'm going to continue my other AnK fic "Crossing the Bridge" of course ;)

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 _I close my eyes  
Wish to sleep_

The cold light of dawn was already creeping through the luxurious curtains of the master bedroom in the Mink household, when the mongrel under the pristinely white, silk sheets began to stir. The pure colour – or lack thereof – made for a stark, unusual contrast against the mongrel's dark skin and night-black hair. The previous night had exhausted him but somehow he knew - as if by some long-forgotten instinct - that dawn was upon him. Probably this was also due to the fact that it was the agreed time starting from which he would go back to being an inferior rather than an equal, and would thus be at risk once again.

 _At night my dear, you look so sweet  
Ice Angel, why are you so cold?_

But before his instincts of self-preservation kicked in entirely, he turned to look once more at his lover from the previous night: the divinely beautiful and coldly distanced Iason Mink, still on display there in all his blonde splendour. Fortunately he was apparently still asleep and therefore there was no need for Riki to rush his exit before being apprehended. Riki took the time to study his nemesis – or had he become his real lover overnight? – in more detail while he was still in Morpheus' arms. Not that Riki hadn't been given ample opportunity for looking at each and every delicious part of the blonde angel the night before, yet while asleep Iason possessed an entirely different aura from when he was awake. It was as if an aura of sweetness and innocence surrounded him in sleep, making him appear like a normal, feeling human being rather than an inhuman, unfeeling Elite. Although an exquisitely alluring human being. __

 _Ice Angel, it doesn't matter what you said to me  
I feel the coldness of your breath  
I see the frozen light inside your face_

While contemplating the most unusual words and events that took place after the Mass Party, Riki decided that he could not allow it to influence his own actions regarding the obsessive, domineering Elite. _He is still the man who kidnapped and tortured me, he even admitted himself that he would do it again after this night._ Regardless of whatever emotions seeing a more human side to Iason had awakened inside of Riki, he could not allow those to cloud his better judgement. His freedom and honour were still at stake and he could not allow himself to show his enemy any weakness, for his enemy's mind and heart were like an icy fortress that Riki could never hope to take. Yet he had managed to get a glance inside a window of said fortress, and had seen a brightly shining light there. The fortress might appear cold and empty on the outside, but on the inside there was a light shining, waiting to be kindled further so that perhaps in time the entirety of the fortress could be defrosted … __

 _One day, my love, it breaks my heart  
And I will not return,  
Not return to you, my love  
Not return to all this pain,  
Not return to all your love_

But no, it was simply not worth the enormous risk to Riki's much-covetted freedom, now that he had finally managed to retrieve it! The truth of the matter was that Iason Mink was like a slow-acting poison to Riki: it might initially cause a pleasant burning sensation, yet in the end it would most surely kill him. If the mongrel allowed his heart to even slightly open up to the possibility of there being even an ounce of love inside of the Elite's hidden, frosty heart, he could not survive the following rejection or disappointment if it would turn out his suspicions had been false. No, after this night, Riki would not return to Iason Mink. He had taken what was offered when it had been offered freely, but he could not afford to pay the price for it outside of those conditions. The pain this man – his Master – had caused him over the years simply was not worth it. He had kidnapped Riki, stripped him of his freedom, his honour and his humanity. Not to mention he had mercilessly tortured the poor mongrel physically as well in his pursuit for the mongrel's unconditional surrender, something that would simply destroy the mongrel. Moreover the aloof Elite had proven the emptiness of his heart when he had ordered the execution of Daryl merely for caring about Riki and wanting to set him free before he went completely mad.

However as these thoughts were manifesting themselves inside Riki's head, memories of not so unpleasant, passionate feelings of rapture started flooding his veins once more. _Iason._ He had to finally admit it to himself: not all the time spent in the company of Iason Mink had been bad. In fact, some of the time spent with Iason had made Riki feel more alive than ever, as if there was a burning hunger inside of his heart that only the blonde could ever satisfy. Those eight months spent in the Blondie's absence had proven as much, as a continuous gnawing emptiness had rendered the Bison leader unable to truly enjoy his newfound freedom.

 _And after all I know,  
Only my heart will live on_

After having spent some time in Tanagura – even in the capacity of a lowly, chained Pet – Riki had truly realised how meaningless and pointless his entire existence as a mongrel truly was. The lives of all of the inhabitants of Ceres combined were simply irrelevant to all the rest of the world. They lived their lives in misery and without any prospects of a better future, like mere bugs just living for the sake of living until someone crushed them underfoot. Extremely poor conditions and gang-related as well as Midas police-related violence had forced them to adopt a mantra of survival of the fittest and just taking life as it came on a day-by-day basis. Yet Riki had always felt as if he had been meant for something more, that living just to survive was not living at all. Even during the high-days of Bison he had always been dreaming of a life beyond the slums. A better, more prosperous life, but especially a life that was entirely of his own making and thus allowed for him to be able to develop all of his talents and to turn all of his ambitions into reality. So that at the end of his time, he would have a whole and fulfilling life to reflect back upon, knowing that he had accomplished all that had been within his abilities or had at least tried his very best. So that the day he died, he would do so in the knowledge that he was leaving something meaningful behind. For it was his heart that would live on and not his body. That would just rot and wither away, just like all pieces of garbage in Ceres always had. And just like so many old, discarded Pets. __

 _If someone cries for you,  
It doesn't matter what you do_

Glancing back at Iason's sleeping form while silently and sneakily putting on his clothes, Riki realised that he had fallen hard for the blonde, icy Elite. Rationally speaking he knew the other was bad news for him, he thought of all the suffering Iason had caused him and he hated him deeply for it. But somehow none of all those horrible things done to him had mattered and Riki had fallen in love with his cruel Master anyway.

 _If someone cries for you,  
And every lie comes back to you_

Just thinking about his feelings for that crafty bastard made Riki's boiling anger return. It was not beyond that sick psycho to manufacture a touching speech and orchestrate a very convincing piece of drama just for the sake of luring Riki back in. What if all the things that pointed to a more emotional, caring side and maybe even a burning flame of true passion inside the machine, were nothing but constructed lies meant to deceive and entrap Riki once again?

 _It's a parting with this moment,  
Kiss your eyes with crystal lips_

As the rays of light now touched the very foot of the bed and Riki had put on all of his clothes without waking his Elite lover, the mongrel knew he had to make haste. _I have to make sure I'm far away from this place and out of Tanagura by the time he wakes, just to be safe._ But as he was about to walk out the door, he couldn't help but look behind him at the peaceful, beautiful figure once more. Iason's long, blonde tresses were artfully draped across his magnificently sculpted torso and were now glittering like an aureole in the light of the new dawn. He looked just like an angel while lying there like that. Yet despite the golden, warm light he emanated, his snow-white skin and the memory of his glacier-blue eyes made Riki shiver and associate him just as much with an ice queen. _I guess he's an ice angel then, with a little bit of both creatures inside of him._ The thought of there being something angelic about Iason in body once more caused Riki to feel a small flicker of hope that perhaps the object of his affections possessed angelic qualities in spirit as well. On that note he walked over to the bed, only partially aware of where his feet were actually taking him, and then bent over his stunning lover to study his face up close. It was unusual for those eyes to be closed and it gave the sleeping blonde a serene, peaceful air that Riki simply could not resist in that moment. So he moved his lips closer and gently kissed those perfect, closed eyelids. After which he quickly moved away from the bed again and darted outside the door before he could change his mind about leaving. __

 _I see the darkness inside your heart,  
There's no place for me to be  
_

As the mongrel made his way through the penthouse, grateful for the absence of any Furniture in his path to the front door, he told himself that even _if_ there was something human in Iason Mink any normal relationship between them would still be impossible. The magic of Christime would soon wear off and then it would be back to Amoyan reality for all of them, leaving the warmth of the Earthen, human tradition in its dusty coffin where it would stay buried forever, surrounded by the prominent darkness that was the perfect order of Amoyan society. It made no difference whether or not Iason felt there ought to be a place for a chaotic, spirited mongrel in his heart. No more than whether or not he felt there ought to be some consideration for the rest of the imperfect, dispicable Midas citizens, Furniture and Pets living in controlled, lonely isolation. Because the harsh reality was that there _was_ no such place, _could_ not be such a place in his dark, mechanical heart. For as an Elite he had been genetically engineered by an unfeeling artificial intelligence and had thereafter been conditioned to be as rational, as perfectly organised and as unfeeling as his Creator.

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Iason opened his eyes after he had heard the bedroom door close behind his mongrel lover, who apparently was in a hurry to get out of there now that there was nothing left for him but danger of both chains and emotional isolation. It was the day of Jupiter Mass, yet Iason did not feel like thanking Jupiter for all she had given him at all. All that her favourite child could think about at that moment was everything she had taken from him. His freedom, to a greater extent than Riki realised. Any chance at true friendship or love. His humanity. His emotions. His very heart. But he would _not_ allow her to take his Riki! He would rather die than have to live without the feisty, little mongrel who had succeeded in melting the ice covering his heart.

If there was no place for Riki in Tanagura, then there simply could not be a place there for Iason either. And if that be so, then they would simply have to _make_ a new place, a place where they could finally be together. A place where the true light of Christmas could shine in all its brightness and warmth. A place where the Ceresian tradition of Christime and the Tanaguran tradition of Jupiter Mass could finally meet and be reunited into a better tradition, a better world. Not a non-place where humanity was non-existant, but a good place where it did exist. A _true_ utopia.

 _The End_

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 **Lyrics:** Blutengel – Ice Angel


End file.
